Carol Jagger - International Handbook of Health Expectancies

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In 1989, an international group of researchers met together to discuss health expectancy, and so the International Network on Health Expectancy and the Disability Process, known by its French acronym REVES, was born. Over the years following, REVES met at least annually but was a closed network. Then, in 1991, the meeting in Leiden was open to any researcher interested in the topic, and REVES has continued to grow from then on.

In the early years of REVES, subgroups were formed to focus on the key issues around the, then relatively new, population health indicator: conceptual harmonization, methods, and policy relevance. Although the subgroups no longer exist, these three issues have remained the primary focus of REVES. The first book on health expectancy,Determining Health Expectancies, was published in 2003 and catalogued research from the first 10 years of the REVES network. It has become a key reference for teaching and research on this topic. A few years ago a group of us decided it was time for a second book since the quantity and quality of research had grown so much. So, here is theInternational Handbook on Health Expectancies.

We have structured the book into four parts, reflecting, as in the first book, the three pillars of the REVES Network but also, in the final section, adding important new research areas on this topic. Many chapters provide in-depth reviews of the literature on, and look forward to future developments in, the specific area. In Part I,Monitoring Trends and Gaps, Chap.).

Developing and disseminating methods have always been one of the pillars of the REVES network, and Part II,Advances in Data and Methodology, addresses the progress made since the first book. Chap.describing this method to produce forecasts of health expectancies.

The REVES network has always seen the relevance for public health policy of a population health indicator that reflects both the quality and quantity of remaining life, rather than just the quantity. Part III,Quantity and Quality of Life: Synergy or Trade-off, reflects the importance of this topic. Chap.).

Part IV,Assessing New Dimensions, comprises six chapters on new dimensions of health or new thoughts on existing ones. The disablement process, rather than health expectancy per se, is the focus of two chapters: Chap.).

The final chapter in theInternational Handbook on Health Expectanciesbrings an overall conclusion and consolidation of the research and looks ahead to where future developments in health expectancy might lie. We hope this book will become, as the first book, a key teaching and research tool for current and future generations, as well as for those already well-versed in health expectancies and those new to the topic.