While the COVID-19 pandemic swept across the world in 2020, Taiwanese were adding more healthy years to their lives, Ministry of Health and Welfare data revealed last week.
Disability-adjusted life years (DALY) measure the amount of time lost to severe illness, disability or premature death. As with all good metrics, this one is able to plainly spell out an issue integral to our lived experience, helping society make decisions that could get people through the toughest times in their lives. Hiding behind this dispassionate acronym are years of struggle, costly treatment and impossible decisions about how to receive care and when enough is enough. Even a slight drop in this figure means decades of more time spent with loved ones.
This is why the figure announced by the ministry was so encouraging. The DALY measure during the first year of the pandemic was 8.04, down the equivalent of 5.16 months from 8.47 a year earlier. The average healthy lifespan for 2020 was 73.28 years, the highest since at least 2001 and the greatest annual jump recorded. It rose from 72.39 years in 2019.
The numbers came as a surprise, even to some experts. When the 2019 figures were released last year, Chiu Hung-yi (邱弘毅), professor of public health at Taipei Medical University, predicted that foregoing exercise and medical treatment to stay at home during the pandemic would exacerbate existing conditions and make the population less healthy on average.
On the contrary, people were healthier for longer, likely thanks to COVID-19 preventive measures. Mask wearing and hand washing — even when implemented intermittently before last year’s domestic outbreak — all but eliminated the common cold and the flu season in 2020, which can be deadly to certain people. Experts can now investigate which conditions are exacerbated by which infectious diseases and craft responses that could save lives.
Without clear statistical proof, it would be easy to give in to pessimistic assumptions such as Chiu’s and downplay the good that can come from the bad. Instead, an opportunity to improve lives has been created.
Chen Ying-ren (陳英仁), a geriatric specialist at Linkou Chang Gung Memorial Hospital, said that the other reason for the DALY decline involves changing attitudes toward hospice care and end-of-life treatment. Although a deeply personal decision, even this changing cultural value has been informed by data transparency. Taiwan’s detailed records of medical expenditures and causes of death revealed immense medical futility, at some estimates comprising up to one-third of all healthcare expenses. Medical futility refers to interventions that are unlikely to produce any significant benefit for the patient.
Concern about the burden this places on the National Health Insurance system, paired with the humanitarian desire to allow patients to die with dignity, informed the landmark passage of the Hospice Palliative Care Act (安寧緩和醫療條例) in 2000 and the Patient Right to Autonomy Act (病人自主權利法) in 2016, still the most progressive of their kind in Asia.
Even now, after COVID-19 has finally breached the nation’s defenses, data transparency remains one of the most powerful tools at people’s disposal. Daily tallies showing the number, percentage and background of moderate and severe cases allow the public to cut through the fearmongering and run informed personal risk calculations as the nation moves into the next stage of the pandemic.
Of course, public health is not the only sector improved by reliable statistics. Data-driven governance helps officials and the public alike simplify Taiwan’s massive and multifarious society, enabling everyone to better understand each other and keep improving together.
Loss is an inevitable part of life; things being found is rare — especially when cash is involved. Taipei has provided me with opportunities to appreciate the beautiful nature of the city and its people. Taipei is unique in many ways and this stands out from a traveler’s perspective. Every time I come to Taipei, I am struck by its vitality, energy, kindness, vibrant night markets and bustling streets, but just as I began to immerse myself in Christmas shopping for my grandchildren, I was jolted by an unexpected loss. Something important to me went missing, leaving me unsettled. I
Recently, the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and the Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) hastily pushed amendments to the Act Governing the Allocation of Government Revenues and Expenditures (財政收支劃分法) through the Legislative Yuan, sparking widespread public concern. The legislative process was marked by opaque decisionmaking and expedited proceedings, raising alarms about its potential impact on the economy, national defense, and international standing. Those amendments prioritize short-term political gains at the expense of long-term national security and development. The amendments mandate that the central government transfer about NT$375.3 billion (US$11.47 billion) annually to local governments. While ostensibly aimed at enhancing local development, the lack
Having enjoyed contributing regular essays to the Liberty Times and Taipei Times now for several years, I feel it is time to pull back. As some of my readers know, I have enjoyed a decades-long relationship with Taiwan. My most recent visit was just a few months ago, when I was invited to deliver a keynote speech at a major conference in Taipei. Unfortunately, my trip intersected with Double Ten celebrations, so I missed the opportunity to call on friends in government, as well as colleagues in the new AIT building, that replaced the old Xin-yi Road complex. I have
Former US president Jimmy Carter’s legacy regarding Taiwan is a complex tapestry woven with decisions that, while controversial, were instrumental in shaping the nation’s path and its enduring relationship with the US. As the world reflects on Carter’s life and his recent passing at the age of 100, his presidency marked a transformative era in Taiwan-US-China relations, particularly through the landmark decision in 1978 to formally recognize the People’s Republic of China (PRC) as the sole legal government of China, effectively derecognizing the Republic of China (ROC) based in Taiwan. That decision continues to influence geopolitical dynamics and Taiwan’s unique
RSS