Can an Ecological Index of Deprivation Be Used at the Country Level? The Case of the French Version of the European Deprivation Index (F-EDI)

Abstract

Most ecological indices of deprivation are constructed from census data at the national level, which raises questions about the relevance of their use, and their comparability across a country. We aimed to determine whether a national index can account for deprivation regardless of location characteristics. In Metropolitan France, 43,853 residential census block groups (IRIS) were divided into eight area types based on quality of life. We calculated score deprivation for each IRIS using the French version of the European Deprivation Index (F-EDI). We decomposed the score by calculating the contribution of each of its components by area type, and we assessed the impact of removing each component and recalculating the weights on the identification of deprived IRIS. The set of components most contributing to the score changed according to the area type, but the identification of deprived IRIS remained stable regardless of the component removed for recalculating the score. Not all components of the F-EDI are markers of deprivation according to location characteristics, but the multidimensional nature of the index ensures its robustness. Further research is needed to examine the limitations of using these indices depending on the purpose of the study, particularly in relation to the geographical grid used to calculate deprivation scores.

Prevalence and characteristics of children with cerebral palsy according to socioeconomic status of areas of residence in a French department

“…However, even if EDI remains an ecological measure, it has been constructed to best reflect the individual experience of deprivation. And since individual socio-economic characteristics of the families were not available, the individual and contextual effects of deprivation cannot be disentangled, as mentioned in the discussion of a recent article on the robustness of the EDI indicator [ 48 ]. This reinforces the fact that deprivation as measured in our study should be interpreted as a multi-level dimension, a mix between individual and environmental aspects of socio-economic level.…”

Environmental and social inequities in continental France: an analysis of exposure to heat, air pollution and lack of vegetation

“…Overcrowded dwellings and homeownership may also have different associations with social deprivation in rural compared with urban areas. The variables contributing the most are overcrowded households and singleparent households (42). The apparent protective effect of social deprivation (as estimated by the EDI and FDep) in rural areas can be explained by the specific spatial distribution of environmental exposures and social deprivation.…”

Area and individual level analyses of demographic and socio-economic disparities in COVID-19 vaccination uptake in Belgium

“…Various approaches can be considered to aggregate data from the individual to the municipality level, approaches similar to the one considered here, i.e. deriving a composite score from several indicators, have been used elsewhere [37] , [38] . More specifically, deprivation scores in the context of health inequalities have recently been defined for Belgium but at smaller area level than the municipality considered in this study ( i.e.…”