Estimating the Changing Nature of Scotland's Health Inequalities Using a Multivariate Spatio-Temporal Model

• Activity Number: 57 - Developments in Bayesian Spatial and Spatio-Temporal Modeling of Small Area Health Data
• Type: Topic Contributed
• Date/Time: Sunday, July 29, 2018 : 4:00 PM to 5:50 PM
• Sponsor: Section on Bayesian Statistical Science
• Author(s): Eilidh Jack* and Duncan Lee and Nema Dean
• Companies: University of Glasgow and University of Glasgow and University of Glasgow
• Keywords: Bayesian modelling; Disease mapping; Health inequalities; Spatio-temporal correlation

Abstract

Health inequalities are the unfair and avoidable differences in people's health across the population between different social groups. These inequalities have a huge impact on people's lives, particularly those who live in the poorer end of the socio-economic spectrum as they result in prolonged ill health and shorter lives. Most studies estimate health inequalities for a single disease, but this will give an incomplete picture of overall inequality. Here we propose a novel multivariate spatio-temporal model to quantify health inequalities in Scotland across 3 major diseases, which will enable us to better understand how they have changed over time. We are also interested in estimating health inequalities between Scotland's 14 regional health boards, who are responsible for the protection and improvement of their population's health. The methodology is applied to hospital admissions data for cerebrovascular disease, coronary heart disease and respiratory disease from 2003 to 2012 across Scotland.