Question:
What is the best determinant of the health status of a country?
What is the best determinant of the health status of a country?
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IMR reacts strongly to nutrition, sanitation, and health care access, making it the most sensitive health status indicator.
Updated On: Jul 8, 2026
- Couple protection rate
- IMR
- MMR
- Crude birth rate
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Verified By Collegedunia
The Correct Option is B
Solution and Explanation
Step 1: Understanding the Question:
We need the single indicator that best reflects the overall health status of a country, meaning it should mirror both the reach of health services and the general standard of living, nutrition, and sanitation.
Step 2: Key Formula or Approach:
Among simple mortality based indicators, the infant mortality rate (IMR) is regarded as the most sensitive index of a community's health, because infants are the most vulnerable group to poor maternal health, poor nutrition, unsafe water, and weak health care access. So a fall or rise in IMR closely tracks the overall level of health development in a country.
Step 3: Detailed Explanation:
(A) Couple protection rate: This only measures how many eligible couples are using a family planning method. It reflects family planning coverage, not the general health status of the population.
(B) IMR: Because infants react quickly and strongly to poor sanitation, undernutrition, poor antenatal care, and weak health infrastructure, IMR is treated as the most sensitive single marker of a country's overall health status.
(C) MMR: Maternal mortality rate reflects the safety of pregnancy and childbirth care specifically. It is an important indicator, but it looks at a much narrower slice of health, pregnancy related deaths, rather than the health of the whole population.
(D) Crude birth rate: This measures fertility, that is, how many births occur per 1000 population. It says little about how healthy people are, since a country can have a high birth rate along with poor health services.
Step 4: Final Answer:
The best determinant of a country's health status is the infant mortality rate (IMR).
We need the single indicator that best reflects the overall health status of a country, meaning it should mirror both the reach of health services and the general standard of living, nutrition, and sanitation.
Step 2: Key Formula or Approach:
Among simple mortality based indicators, the infant mortality rate (IMR) is regarded as the most sensitive index of a community's health, because infants are the most vulnerable group to poor maternal health, poor nutrition, unsafe water, and weak health care access. So a fall or rise in IMR closely tracks the overall level of health development in a country.
Step 3: Detailed Explanation:
(A) Couple protection rate: This only measures how many eligible couples are using a family planning method. It reflects family planning coverage, not the general health status of the population.
(B) IMR: Because infants react quickly and strongly to poor sanitation, undernutrition, poor antenatal care, and weak health infrastructure, IMR is treated as the most sensitive single marker of a country's overall health status.
(C) MMR: Maternal mortality rate reflects the safety of pregnancy and childbirth care specifically. It is an important indicator, but it looks at a much narrower slice of health, pregnancy related deaths, rather than the health of the whole population.
(D) Crude birth rate: This measures fertility, that is, how many births occur per 1000 population. It says little about how healthy people are, since a country can have a high birth rate along with poor health services.
Step 4: Final Answer:
The best determinant of a country's health status is the infant mortality rate (IMR).
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