Bennett, N.C. orcid.org/0000-0002-4742-7656, Norman, P. orcid.org/0000-0002-6211-1625, Albani, V. et al. (2 more authors) (2024) The impact of the English national health inequalities strategy on inequalities in mortality at age 65: a time-trend analysis. European Journal of Public Health, 34 (4). pp. 660-665. ISSN 1101-1262
Abstract
Background
During the 1997–2010 Labour government, several policies were implemented to narrow health inequalities as part of a national health inequalities strategy. Many of these policies are likely to have had a disproportionately large impact on people aged 65 and over. We aimed to understand the association between the health inequalities strategy period and inequalities in mortality at age 65–69.
Methods
We use population at risk and mortality data covering 1991–2019 to calculate mortality rate at age 65–69 at the Local Authority level. We use the 2019 Index of Multiple Deprivation to examine geographical inequalities. We employ segmented linear regression models with marginal spline terms for the strategy period and interact these with an indicator of deprivation to understand how inequalities changed before, during and after the strategy. The reporting of this study adheres to STROBE guidelines.
Results
Mortality rates in each deprivation quintile improved continuously throughout the period of study. Prior to the programme (1991–9) there was no significant change in absolute inequalities. However, during the strategy (2000–10) there was a significant decrease in absolute inequalities of −9.66 (−17.48 to −1.84). The period following the strategy (2011–19) was associated with a significant increase in absolute inequalities of 12.84 (6.60 to 19.08). Our results were robust to a range of sensitivity tests.
Conclusion
The English health inequalities strategy was associated with a significant reduction in absolute inequality in mortality age 65–69. Future strategies to address inequalities in ageing populations may benefit from adopting a similar approach.
Metadata
Item Type: | Article |
---|---|
Authors/Creators: |
|
Copyright, Publisher and Additional Information: | © 2024 The Author(s). Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the European Public Health Association. This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted reuse, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. |
Keywords: | aging; government; mortality; health disparity; linear regression |
Dates: |
|
Institution: | The University of Sheffield |
Academic Units: | The University of Sheffield > Sheffield Methods Institute |
Depositing User: | Symplectic Sheffield |
Date Deposited: | 17 Jun 2024 15:57 |
Last Modified: | 05 Aug 2024 09:55 |
Status: | Published |
Publisher: | Oxford University Press (OUP) |
Refereed: | Yes |
Identification Number: | 10.1093/eurpub/ckae081 |
Related URLs: | |
Sustainable Development Goals: | |
Open Archives Initiative ID (OAI ID): | oai:eprints.whiterose.ac.uk:213394 |