Outputs are best described as which of the following?

• A. Health programs and services intended to prevent death, disease and disability and to promote quality of life.
• B. Indicators of health status and quality of life.
• C. The level to which a health problem is reduced.
• D. The number of doctors in a health system.

Answer: (A)

Outputs are the actual health programs and services that the interventions deliver to people—the tangible products of what the program does. Think of them as the delivered activities: vaccines given, screenings conducted, counseling sessions held, clinics opened, and other services provided. These deliverables are specifically aimed at preventing death, disease, and disability and at promoting quality of life, which is why describing outputs as the health programs and services makes the most sense.

Indicators of health status and quality of life refer to measures of how people are doing, not the services produced. The level to which a health problem is reduced describes outcomes or impact, not the immediate deliverables. The number of doctors in a health system is an input or resource, not an output.