Measuring and understanding individual and community health status in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo from a person-centered perspective

This thesis aimed to propose a multidimensional person-centered way of classifying and monitoring health, taking into account how people perceive and measure their own cognitive abilities, physical functioning and level of social participation. We used the World Health Organization Disability Assessment Schedule to measure a person’s health capital with person-centered lenses. We identified three hierarchical health clusters amounting to different health capital levels in the community. We then examined the link between health capital and health services utilization, and how the former evolves over time. Our results suggest that the health status clustering has the potential to adequately discriminate individuals based on the levels of health needs and to increase the likelihood of appropriate healthcare service provision to all, included to those with vulnerabilities that could be easily overlooked by usual disease-based classifications.(SP - Sciences de la santé publique) -- UCL, 202