Summary

Burden of disease analysis is a standard method for collating data of acceptable quality on causes of health loss, to produce comparable and concise policy-relevant evidence. Being able to use data from various sources to develop an internally consistent measure for all diseases is a key strength of a burden of disease study. However, methods used in burden of disease studies have become more complex over time, and the number of diseases and risk factors specifically analysed has increased. This increased complexity makes it much harder to explain the methods, and can result in decreased clarity for stakeholders.

One of the central principles for the Australian Burden of Disease Study (ABDS) 2011 is transparency of data, assumptions and methods. This report describes, as far as practicable, the methods and assumptions used by the ABDS 2011 to quantify the fatal and non-fatal effects and causes of diseases and injuries in the Australian and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander populations in 2011 and 2003. It is a companion publication to Impact and causes of illness and death in Australia 2011 (AIHW 2016b) and Impact and causes of illness and death in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people 2011 (AIHW 2016c).

The report is divided into 3 main sections.

The first presents the general methods used to estimate disease burden, followed by disease-specific methods. The second presents the general methods used to estimate the burden attributable to various risk factors, followed by more specific methods for each risk factor. The third presents methods used to account for quality and accuracy. Where they differ from the national methods, methods used to estimate the burden in the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander population, subgroups (state/territory, remoteness and socioeconomic group) and in 2003 are explained as necessary within each section.

To make the report easier to read, large tables and additional information are presented in appendixes A to F.