Term: Mortality Rate

Glossary Definition

Last Updated: 2006-02-22

Definition:

The number of deaths in a population, divided by the number of residents. It is used as an indication of the overall health of the population, similar to what is measured by life expectancy. The rate is age- and sex-standardized to account for differences in populations. Also described as the rate at which death occurs within a certain time period after a specified event. The time period and the event vary from study to study, depending on the research question being asked. For example, the "Monitoring the Winnipeg Hospital System" deliverables looked at mortality rates within 60 and 90 days of hospital admission and 30 days of hospital discharge.

"Number of deaths per 1,000 person years." Chateau et al., 2019.

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