[The estimation of years lived in disability: a global initiative].

This paper [translated from the original French] sets out the main information brought by the calculations of health expectancies at a global level: sex differences national geographical comparisons socio-economic differences; causes of disability and handicap; time trends; and nature of the years lived with disabilities. The study illustrates the policy relevance of health expectancies to (i) appraise the quality of the years lived (ii) supervise health inequalities (iii) allocate resources to different programmes or (iv) assess health policies. It also illustrates the large diversity of potential indicators of the quality of years lived. (EXCERPT) (SUMMARY IN ENG)