Deprivation

Deprivation Background

The following pages on deprivation are particularly relevant to analysts or researchers who want to know more detail about the way we measure deprivation using area-based measures or who want to attach deprivation indicators to information they hold.

Measures of deprivation are used in ISD publications and output for a variety of purposes including:

• Measuring and monitoring inequalities in health and healthcare activity
• Standardising health and healthcare activity measures for more meaningful comparisons between organisations or geographical areas

In the past ISD has mainly used Carstairs 1991-based deprivation categories or quintiles measured using postcode sectors.  With the availability of data from the 2001 Census and the Neighbourhood Statistics Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation (SIMD 2006) we have reviewed how deprivation is measured in national health statistics.  

Deprivation measures

Ideally, material deprivation would be measured on an individual basis using information on income, education or occupation. In practice, however, this information is often not available, so deprivation for individuals is estimated from aggregate data derived from the census and other routine sources. These are used to estimate the deprivation of individuals in small geographical areas. We consider two area-based measures of deprivation:

• The Carstairs and Morris index was originally developed in the 1980s using 1981 census data. It is composed of four indicators at postcode sector level that were judged to represent material disadvantage in the population (Lack of car ownership, Registrar General Social Class, Overcrowded households and male unemployment). The index has also been calculated based on 1991 and 2001 census data.  Further information can be found on the Medical Research Council website.
  
  
• The Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation (SIMD) has seven domains (income, employment, education, housing, health, crime, and geographical access) at datazone level, which have been combined into an overall index to pick out area concentrations of multiple deprivation. Full information on the SIMD 2006 can be found in the SIMD 2006 Report on the Scottish Government website, as can the full dataset and examples of uses of the indicator.

These pages describe the choices of deprivation measure, the geographical units of measurement available, and the categorisation of the measures.  Downloadable reference files are provided for analysing health data in relation to deprivation.

The information described here is very detailed.  If you are interested in the deprivation profile of the area in which you live then visit the  Scottish Neighbourhood Statistics website or the Scottish Government interactive maps, or if you are interested in statistics showing the effects of deprivation in relation to health then visit the disease-specific sections of this website (for example, cancer or coronary heart disease) (http://www.isdscotland.org/health_and_care).

Main contact: Deprivation Contacts

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