A working guide to international comparisons of health

The aim of this guide is to encourage users of international comparisons of health and health care data to consider some of the factors that can influence variation between countries, and to assist them in interpreting the results. [...] Drawing on a range of examples—using health and health care data for Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) countries—this guide highlights the types of question to consider about data quality, the basis for country selection and the techniques used to present the results. [...] The construction of a composite index is intricate and the quality of the outcome depends on the method used, the quality of the underlying data, and the framework of the measure (Bandura 2008). [...] These include the Asia Development Bank, the Commonwealth Fund, the OECD, the UN, the WHO, the International Agency for Research on Cancer and the World Bank. [...] It is considered to be indicative not only of the effect of the country’s economic and social conditions on the health of mothers and babies but also of the effectiveness of the health system (OECD 2009).