James Higgerson

Investigating the impact of the English health inequalities strategy: time trend analysis

Objective To investigate whether the English health inequalities strategy was associated with a decline in geographical health inequalities, compared with trends before and after the strategy. Design Time trend analysis. Setting Two groups of lower tier local authorities in England. The most deprived, bottom fifth and the rest of England. Intervention The English health inequalities strategy—a cross government strategy implemented between 1997 and 2010 to reduce health inequalities in England. Trends in geographical health inequalities were assessed before (1983-2003), during (2004-12), and after (2013-15) the strategy using segmented linear regression. Main outcome measure Geographical health inequalities measured as the relative and absolute differences in male and female life expectancy at birth between the most deprived local authorities in England and the rest of the country. Results Before the strategy the gap in male and female life expectancy between the most deprived local authorities in England and the rest of the country increased at a rate of 0.57 months each year (95% confidence interval 0.40 to 0.74 months) and 0.30 months each year (0.12 to 0.48 months). During the strategy period this trend reversed and the gap in life expectancy for men reduced by 0.91 months each year (0.54 to 1.27 months) and for women by 0.50 months each year (0.15 to 0.86 months). Since the end of the strategy period the inequality gap has increased again at a rate of 0.68 months each year (−0.20 to 1.56 months) for men and 0.31 months each year (−0.26 to 0.88) for women. By 2012 the gap in male life expectancy was 1.2 years smaller (95% confidence interval 0.8 to 1.5 years smaller) and the gap in female life expectancy was 0.6 years smaller (0.3 to 1.0 years smaller) than it would have been if the trends in inequalities before the strategy had continued. Conclusion The English health inequalities strategy was associated with a decline in geographical inequalities in life expectancy, reversing a previously increasing trend. Since the strategy ended, inequalities have started to increase again. The strategy may have reduced geographical health inequalities in life expectancy, and future approaches should learn from this experience. The concerns are that current policies are reversing the achievements of the strategy.

Collecting standardised urban health indicator data at an individual level for adults living in urban areas: methodology from EURO-URHIS 2

Background An aim of the EURO-URHIS 2 project was to collect standardised data on urban health indicators (UHIs) relevant to the health of adults resident in European urban areas. This article details development of the survey instruments and methodologies to meet this aim. 32 urban areas from 11 countries conducted the adult surveys. Using a participatory approach, a standardised adult UHI survey questionnaire was developed mainly comprised of previously validated questions, followed by translation and back-translation. An evidence-based survey methodology with extensive training was employed to ensure standardised data collection. Comprehensive UK piloting ensured face validity and investigated the potential for response bias in the surveys. Each urban area distributed 800 questionnaires to age-sex stratified random samples of adults following the survey protocols. Piloting revealed lower response rates in younger males from more deprived areas. Almost 19500 adult UHI questionnaires were returned and entered from participating urban areas. Response rates were generally low but varied across Europe. The participatory approach in development of survey questionnaires and methods using an evidence-based approach and extensive training of partners has ensured comparable UHI data across heterogeneous European contexts. The data provide unique information on health and determinants of health in adults living in European urban areas that could be used to inform urban health policymaking. However, piloting has revealed a concern that non-response bias could lead to under-representation of younger males from more deprived areas. This could affect the generalisability of findings from the adult surveys given the low response rates.

Collecting standardized urban health indicator data at an individual level for school-aged children living in urban areas: methods from EURO-URHIS 2.

Background Measuring health and its determinants in urban populations is essential to effectively develop public health policies maximizing health gain within this context. Adolescents are important in this regard given the origins of leading causes of morbidity and mortality develop pre-adulthood. Comprehensive, accurate and comparable information on adolescent urban health indicators from heterogeneous urban contexts is an important challenge. EURO-URHIS 2 aimed to develop standardized tools and methodologies collecting data from adolescents across heterogenous European urban contexts. Questionnaires were developed including (i) comprehensive assessment of urban health indicators from 7 pre-defined domains, (ii) use of previously validated questions from a literature review and other European surveys, (iii) translation/back-translation into European languages and (iv) piloting. Urban area-specific data collection methodologies were established through literature review, consultation and piloting. School-based surveys of 14-16-year olds (400-800 per urban area) were conducted in 13 European countries (33 urban areas). Participation rates were high (80-100%) for students from schools taking part in the surveys from all urban areas, and data quality was generally good (low rates of missing/spoiled data). Overall, 13 850 questionnaires were collected, coded and entered for EURO-URHIS 2. Dissemination included production of urban area health profiles (allowing benchmarking for a number of important public health indicators in young people) and use of visualization tools as part of the EURO-URHIS 2 project. EURO-URHIS 2 has developed standardized survey tools and methodologies for assessing key measures of health and its determinants in adolescents from heterogenous urban contexts and demonstrated the utility of this data to public health practitioners and policy makers.

Incorporating uncertainty in aggregate burden of disease measures: an example of DALYs-averted by a smoking cessation campaign in the UK

Background Summary measures of population health (SMPH) combine information about morbidity and mortality as a means of describing the health of a population and allow for the comparison between otherwise incomparable health problems. Despite the widespread use of SMPHs in global public health policy, the uncertainty in their calculation, inherent due to the variable quality and availability of data from different sources required to calculate SMPHs, is generally ignored. Methods and results Using the example of the expected effect of a smoking cessation mass-media campaign on ischaemic heart disease in the UK expressed in DALYs (disability adjusted life years)-averted, a transparent and straightforward probabilistic methodology to incorporate uncertainty in the calculation of population impact measures of health, to better inform the public health debate, is described. In addition, a rationale on how this additional information can be utilised to further improve the use of quantitative data for SMPH is presented, and public health policy makers are provided with additional tools for prioritisation of interventions and cost-effective prioritisation of data collection campaigns for the improvement of the calculation of future SMPH. Conclusion Systematic use of these tools will provide a stronger evidence base for public health policy in the future and will further direct a drive towards the use of quantitative tools.

Leisure centre entrance charges and physical activity participation in England

Reducing or eliminating the cost to the public of using leisure facilities is one tool that local authorities have available to reduce inequalities in physical activity (PA). There is limited evidence about the effect of leisure entrance charges and their impact on participation. This study aimed to ascertain how facility pricing influenced the decisions people made about how to pay and what to pay for and how, in turn, these decisions impacted on participation for different groups. A total of 83 members of the public living in 4 local authorities in the North West of England were involved in focus groups or individual interviews. The results show that cost was a key factor which influenced PA participation in low income neighbourhoods. In practise, however, the majority of service users navigated the range of prices or payment options to find one that was suitable rather than simply reporting whether leisure was affordable or not. Whilst pre-paid options (e.g. direct debit memberships) encouraged participation, entrance charges incurred each time an individual participated had a negative impact on frequency but were a convenient way of paying for occasional use or for people who were unable to afford a pre-paid option. Free access also helped people who could not afford pre-paid membership to exercise regularly as well as incentivizing non-users to try activities. The research concluded that policies that include components of free access and offer more flexible payment options are most likely to contribute to reducing inequalities in PA.

Health status in Europe: comparison of 24 urban areas to the corresponding 10 countries (EURO-URHIS 2).

Background : In Europe, over 70% of the population live in urban areas (UAs). Most international comparative health research is done using national level data, as reliable and comparable urban data are often unavailable or difficult to access. This study aims to investigate whether population health is different in UAs compared with their corresponding countries. : Routinely available health-related data were collected by the EURO-URHIS 2 project, for 10 European countries and for 24 UAs within those countries. National and UA level data for 11 health indicators were compared through the calculation of relative difference, and geographical patterns within Europe were investigated using the Mann Whitney U test. Linear regression modelling was used to adjust for population density, gross domestic product and urbanicity. : In general, the urban population in Eastern Europe is less healthy than the Western European urban population. However, people in Eastern Europe have significantly better broad health outcomes in UAs as compared with the corresponding country as a whole, whereas people in Western Europe have generally worse broader health outcomes in UAs. : For most European countries and UAs that were investigated, the national level health status data does not correspond with the health status at UA level. In order to identify health problems in UAs and to provide information for local health policy, health monitoring and international benchmarking should also be conducted at the local level.

Impact of free access to leisure facilities and community outreach on inequalities in physical activity: a quasi-experimental study

Background There are large inequalities in levels of physical activity in the UK, and this is an important determinant of health inequalities. Little is known about the effectiveness of community-wide interventions to increase physical activity and whether effects differ by socioeconomic group. Methods We conducted interrupted time series and difference-in-differences analyses using local administrative data and a large national survey to investigate the impact of an intervention providing universal free access to leisure facilities alongside outreach and marketing activities in a deprived local authority area in the northwest of England. Outcomes included attendances at swimming and gym sessions, self-reported participation in gym and swim activity and any physical activity. Results The intervention was associated with a 64% increase in attendances at swimming and gym sessions (relative risk 1.64, 95% CI 1.43 to 1.89, P<0.001), an additional 3.9% of the population participating in at least 30 min of moderate-intensity gym or swim sessions during the previous four weeks (95% CI 3.6 to 4.1) and an additional 1.9% of the population participating in any sport or active recreation of at least moderate intensity for at least 30 min on at least 12 days out of the last four weeks (95% CI 1.7 to 2.1). The effect on gym and swim activity and overall levels of participation in physical activity was significantly greater for the more disadvantaged socioeconomic group. Conclusions The study suggests that removing user charges from leisure facilities in combination with outreach and marketing activities can increase overall population levels of physical activity while reducing inequalities.

Correction to: Household Determinants of Liquified Petroleum Gas (LPG) as a Cooking Fuel in South West Cameroon

Household Determinants of Liquified Petroleum Gas (LPG) as a Cooking Fuel in South West Cameroon