PAPP101 - S08: Life Tables (II)

Aims and objectives

Aims

To continue the material presented in Life Tables I, picking up the construction of the life table from the survivor column (l_x) and completing the table to derive life expectancy.  An understanding of healthy life expectancy is also presented.

Objectives

After working through this module you should be able to:

• understand and appreciate the post-lx columns which form part of a classical life table
• understand how the columns are constructed
• appreciate the utility of each column
• particularly understand how life expectancy is calculated and the misconceptions surrounding it
• understand the concept of healthy life expectancy and the common method of estimating it