On the use of health surveys for estimating transition rates for morbidity processes.

In this paper, we describe a potential source of useful data for estimating disease onset, recovery and death rates, and derive the necessary equations for estimating the rates. The limitations of the method, both theoretical and practical, are described, and numerical results are reported in the cases of two Italian health surveys of the 1980s....Our goal in this paper is to study quality of life, and to attempt to provide measures which may allow health policy decisions affecting quality of life. For this purpose, estimates of morbidity provided by general population health surveys would seem to be appropriate.