Service utilization
Number (and mean) outpatient department visits to the health facility per person per year.
Total number of outpatient department visits per year.
Total population (of the same geographical area).
Age, place of residence, sex.
See also: Number of outpatient department visits per 10,000 population per year; and Hospital admission rates (i.e. Number of hospital [inpatient] admissions per person per year)
Requires complete and reliable recording and reporting of the number of outpatient department visits by public and private facilities. Recall in population surveys can also be used.
Routine facility information systems
Population-based health surveys
There has been a shift in the global health agenda from focusing on disease-specific approaches to emphasizing health systems strengthening to improve the effectiveness of national and district-level health ministries and programs. Strengthening outpatient service delivery and increasing utilization are fundamental to improving health status and outcomes. This standardized indicator shows the levels of utilization of outpatient healthcare services and can be employed to examine trends and variations in use of services by type of facility and healthcare service, geographic districts and urban/rural locations, and will allow comparisons between countries and programs.
Assessment of actual numbers of people utilizing services (including those individuals who make repeated visits) requires complete and reliable recording and reporting of the number of outpatient department visits by public and private facilities.
Antenatal care, Neonatal care, Obstetric care, Labor and delivery, Pediatric care, PMTCT, HIV care, HIV counseling and testing, Family Planning, Contraception, Reproductive Health, Maternal health, Newborn health, Child health, Adolescent health, Malaria
World Health Organization (WHO). 2015 Global Reference List of 100 Core Health Indicators.; 2015. http://apps.who.int/iris/bitstream/10665/173589/1/WHO_HIS_HSI_2015.3_eng.pdf
World Health Organization. Monitoring, Evaluation, and Review of National Health Strategies: A Country-Led Platform for Information and Accountability.; 2011. http://www.who.int/healthinfo/country_monitoring_evaluation/1085_IER_131011_web.pdf
MEASURE Evaluation. FP and Reproductive Health Indicators Database — MEASURE Evaluation. http://www.cpc.unc.edu/measure/prh/rh_indicators/
Further information and related links
World Health Organization (WHO). Monitoring the Building Blocks of Health Systems: A Handbook of Indicators and Their Measurement Strategies.; 2010. (Retrieved from http://www.who.int/healthinfo/systems/WHO_MBHSS_2010_full_web.pdf?ua=1)
