Health Inequalities: Measurement and Decomposition
38 Pages Posted: 19 Dec 2016
Date Written: September 5, 2016
Abstract
In this paper we focus on reviewing ways of measuring health inequalities — that is, observable differences in health among individuals of different social groups. We cover a number of fundamental issues involved in choosing a measure of health inequality, and we demonstrate that measures of inequality inherently reflect, to a greater or lesser extent, different ethical and value judgments about what aspects of health inequality are important to capture. We provide definitions and empirical examples for of a number of measures of health inequality. We also emphasize developments in the literature on measuring health inequalities since the mid 2000s, particularly a recent emphasis (at least in health research) on socioeconomic inequalities and inequality decomposition.
Keywords: inequality; health; socioeconomic position; decomposition
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