A deprivation index for health planning in Canada

Abstract

Administrative databases in the Canadian health sector do not contain socio-economic information. To facilitate the monitoring of social inequalities for health planning, this study proposes a material and social deprivation index for Canada. After explaining the concept of deprivation, we describe the methodological aspects of the index and apply it to the example of premature mortality (i.e. death before the age of 75). We illustrate variations in deprivation and the links between deprivation and mortality nationwide and in different geographic areas including the census metropolitan areas (CMAs) of Toronto, Montréal and Vancouver; other CMAs; average-size cities, referred to as census agglomerations (CAs); small towns and rural communities; and five regions of Canada, namely Atlantic, Quebec, Ontario, the Prairies and British Columbia. Material and social deprivation and their links to mortality vary considerably by geographic area. We comment on the results as well as the limitations of the index and its advantages for health planning.

Association between Kawasaki Disease and Prenatal Exposure to Ambient and Industrial Air Pollution: A Population-Based Cohort Study

“…All models were adjusted for maternal age (continuous), parity, sex, multiple birth, birth year, maternal smoking during pregnancy, and neighborhood socioeconomic status (using quintiles of material deprivation) (Pampalon et al 2009). We further controlled for urban or rural residence to account for potential differences in air pollution (mixture and levels) and health services.…”

The association between campylobacteriosis, agriculture and drinking water: a case-case study in a region of British Columbia, Canada, 2005–2009

“…An urban environment was defined as having a minimum population concentration of 1000 and a population density of > 400/km 2 ; all other areas were defined as rural [19]. The material component of the 2006 Deprivation Index (DI) for Health Planning, based on education, employment and income indicators, was divided into tertiles and used as the socioeconomic status (SES) measure at the dissemination area census geographical unit [20, 21]. We assigned rural/urban environment and SES to each household using GIS-based spatial join functions.…”

Geographic Inequalities of Respiratory Health Services Utilization during Childhood in Edmonton and Calgary, Canada: A Tale of Two Cities

“…We used the 2006-Pampalon material and social deprivation indices as proxy measures of area-level socioeconomic status (SES) [41,42]. The Pampalon indices are area-level composite measures of SES which integrate individual Canadian census data for the population aged 15 and over, excluding First Nations groups.…”