Table 1.
Characteristics of the indicator-based monitoring systems
| Finland - Finnish Welfare Compass [20] | |
| Publishing institution | National Institute for Health and Welfare (THL) |
| No. of indicators | 16 |
| Reference population | 0+ years |
| Last update | 2017 |
| Website or report/brochure | Website |
| Geographical levels | National level and different regional levels |
| Disaggregation levels | Sex |
| Development of the indicators | Structured consensus process involving multiple stakeholders |
| Graphic display | Line charts displaying the indicators over time; area profiles with detailed information for any selected region (spine charts comparing values for a selected region with values for the whole country and displaying the region with the lowest and highest value as well as interquartile ranges) |
| Metadata | Definition, data sources, items/instruments, available time series, data restrictions, interpretation guidance, impact on population wellbeing, financial impact, advice for local authorities |
| Finland - Statistical information on welfare and health in Finland (SOTKAnet) [18] | |
| Publishing institution | National Institute for Health and Welfare Finland (THL) |
| No. of indicators | 57 |
| Reference population | 0+ years |
| Last update | 2017 |
| Website or report/brochure | Website |
| Geographical levels | National level and different regional levels |
| Disaggregation levels | Sex |
| Development of the indicators | No information available |
| Graphic display | No default settings; users are free to create a broad range of tables, line and bar charts including geographical comparisons and time series, as well as maps displaying the indicators |
| Metadata | Definition, data sources, disaggregation levels, data restrictions, interpretation guidance, legislation |
| Ireland - Positive Ageing 2016. National indicators report [16] | |
| Publishing institution | Healthy and Positive Ageing Initiative (HaPAI), Department of Health |
| No. of indicators | 53 |
| Reference population | 50+ years |
| Last update | 2016 |
| Website or report/brochure | Report/brochure |
| Geographical levels | National level |
| Disaggregation levels | Sex, age group |
| Development of the indicators | Based on the Irish National Positive Ageing Strategy; structured consensus process involving multiple stakeholders |
| Graphic display | Line and bar charts displaying the indicators over time |
| Metadata | Definition, data sources, rationale, literature (for some indicators), for data sources: reference period, data collection frequency, coverage, method of data collection, data content, relevant policy areas, references, sample size |
| New Zealand - Positive Aging Indicators [17] | |
| Publishing institution | Ministry of Social Development |
| No. of indicators | 34 |
| Reference population | 65+ years |
| Last update | 2007 |
| Website or report/brochure | Report/brochure |
| Geographical levels | National level and regional level (some indicators) |
| Disaggregation levels | Sex, age group, ethnicity; some indicators: area deprivation levels, personal income, education, living arrangements, urban/rural |
| Development of the indicators | Based on the New Zealand Positive Ageing Strategy |
| Graphic display | Line and bar charts displaying the indicators over time |
| Metadata | Definition, data sources, items/instruments, data restrictions, reference population, rationale |
| New Zealand - Older people’s health data and stats [14] | |
| Publishing institution | Ministry of Health |
| No. of indicators | 22 |
| Reference population | 15+ years |
| Last update | 2016 |
| Website or report/brochure | Website |
| Geographical levels | National level |
| Disaggregation levels | Sex (some indicators), age group, Maori and non-Maori population |
| Development of the indicators | No information available |
| Graphic display | Line and bar charts displaying the indicators over time |
| Metadata | Definition, data sources |
| Switzerland - Indicators for health in old age [11] | |
| Publishing institution | Swiss health observatory |
| No. of indicators | 7 |
| Reference population | 15+ years |
| Last update | 2016 |
| Website or report/brochure | Website |
| Geographical levels | National level and regional level |
| Disaggregation levels | Sex, age group, speech area, education, income, urban/rural |
| Development of the indicators | No information available |
| Graphic display | Line and bar charts displaying the indicators over time; ranked bar charts with indicator values and 95% confidence intervals for regions; crude numbers of persons affected in a region; maps offer a regional comparison of indicators; most data are also available as Excel files |
| Metadata | Definition, data sources, items/instruments, rationale |
| England (UK) - Older People’s Health and Wellbeing [13] | |
| Publishing institution | Public Health England |
| No. of indicators | 31 |
| Reference population | 65+ years |
| Last update | 2017 |
| Website or report/brochure | Website |
| Geographical levels | Whole country and different regional levels |
| Disaggregation levels | Sex (some indicators) |
| Development of the indicators | Based on the Public Health Outcomes Framework for England, the Adult Social Care Outcomes Framework and the National Health Service Outcomes Framework |
| Graphic display | Line charts displaying the indicators over time; area profiles with detailed information for any selected region (spine charts comparing values for a selected region with the English average or any other comparator and displaying the region with the highest and lowest value as well as interquartile ranges); ranked bar charts with values and 95% confidence intervals for regions comparing them either with the English average or with pre-defined target values using a modified traffic-light system; crude numbers of persons affected in a region; maps displaying indicators in a traffic-light system against the benchmark, or in a continuous, quartile-based or quintile-based colour scheme; most data are also available as Excel files |
| Metadata | Definition, data sources, items/instruments, reference population, rationale |
| Scotland (UK) - Online Profiles: Older People 65+ [15] | |
| Publishing institution | Scottish Public Health Observatory |
| No. of indicators | 26 |
| Reference population | 65+ years |
| Last update | 2014 |
| Website or report/brochure | Website |
| Geographical levels | Two different regional levels |
| Disaggregation levels | – |
| Development of the indicators | No information available |
| Graphic display | Area profiles with detailed information for any selected region (spine charts comparing values for a selected region with the Scottish average or any other comparator and displaying the region with the highest and lowest value as well as interquartile ranges); spine charts show the crude number of persons affected in a region; a colour-coded modified traffic-light system is used to indicate statistical significance of the deviation of regional values from the Scottish average; benchmark comparison of regions with the Scottish average and with other regions using bar charts that include 95% confidence intervals |
| Metadata | Definition, data sources |
| Wales (UK) - Measuring the health and well-being of a nation: Public Health Outcomes Framework for Wales; Healthy Ageing [19] | |
| Publishing institution | Public Health Wales (not yet implemented) |
| No. of indicators | 5 |
| Reference population | 0+ years |
| Last update | Not yet implemented |
| Website or report/brochure | – |
| Geographical levels | To be presented at different regional levels |
| Disaggregation levels | Sex, age group, urban/rural |
| Development of the indicators | Based on the Public Health Outcomes Framework for Wales |
| Graphic display | – |
| Metadata | Definition, data sources, rationale |
| USA - Older Americans: Key Indicators of Well-Being [12] | |
| Publishing institution | Federal Interagency Forum on Aging-Related Statistics |
| No. of indicators | 41 |
| Reference population | 65+ years |
| Last update | 2016 |
| Website or report/brochure | Report/ brochure |
| Geographical levels | National level |
| Disaggregation levels | Sex (some indicators), age group, ethnicity |
| Development of the indicators | No information available |
| Graphic display | Bar and line charts displaying the indicators over time |
| Metadata | Definition, data sources, reference population |