Mortality

Abstract

Mortality refers to the level of death characterizing a population. Mortality research investigates the who, how, why, and when issues related to dying, issues directly connected to the effectiveness of the health care system. Demographers have contributed greatly to the understanding of mortality and health care issues both in terms of the development of mortality measures and the identification of death patterns within the population. Comparisons of deaths, death rates and life expectancy across geographic units (e.g., nations) provide insight into variations in health conditions and health services.