Health Inequalities in the British Nursing Workforce

BackgroundAverage health in the UK is improving, yet geographical inequalities in health persist. The relative difference between the least and most deprived is also growing. Recent policy interventions to reduce these inequalities have not been effective. MethodsThis work compares Self-Rated Health using the ONS LS and SLS linked to an adjusted UK-consistent small-area Deprivation measure. This study aims to compare Nurses to the general population to assess whether they also exhibit a social gradient in health. Using a single occupational group adjusts for potential confounders and tests whether characteristics of Nurses, such a good health literacy, degree education and above average income, are protective against inequalities. ResultsIn Scotland, Nurses are more likely to be older, female, homeowners who live in less deprived areas with better Self-Rated Health than Non-Nurses. We will test whether the social gradient in health is observed for this occupational group.Forthcoming results from cross-national analysis will be presented at conference following disclosure checks. ConclusionThe relationship between area deprivation and health may remain even in relatively privileged groups. Results from this study may inform recommendations to improve the effectiveness of policy aimed at improving population health and reducing socio-economic inequalities in health

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Health Inequalities in British Nurses using Census derived databases linked to an adjusted UK Index of Multiple Deprivation

International Journal for Population Data Science ◽

10.23889/ijpds.v3i4.613 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 3 (4) ◽

Author(s):

Will Ball ◽

Richard Kyle ◽

Iain Atherton ◽

Nadine Dougall

Keyword(s):

Health Outcomes ◽

Area Deprivation ◽

Inequalities In Health ◽

Multiple Deprivation ◽

Individual Level ◽

Self Rated Health ◽

National Comparison ◽

The Uk ◽

Index Of Multiple Deprivation ◽

Cross National

IntroductionScottish health outcomes are worse than in England and Wales. This variation remains after controlling for deprivation, which explains less excess mortality now than previously. Alternative cross-national deprivation measures have limitations which may explain some of this trend. Recent policy interventions to reduce inequalities have not been effective. Objectives and ApproachThis study aims to test a recently developed measure of area deprivation, the UK adjusted Index of Multiple Deprivation which has been linked to National Census derived Longitudinal Studies in England, Wales and Scotland. This adjusted measure is consistent across UK countries and addresses some limitations of previously utilised area measures of deprivation. This study also aims to test whether characteristics of Nurses are protective against inequalities in health. This study will test whether Nurses are more socio-economically homogenous and whether higher health literacy is protective against the social gradient in health outcomes. Results(1) Comparing Nurses to Non-Nurses in Scotland we found that they have systematically different demographic characteristics. Nurses are; older on average, more likely to be female, more likely to own their home, more likely to live in less deprived areas and they report better self-rated health. (1a) Correlation tests will examine the strength of relationship between health and Deprivation quintile for these groups. (2) Comparing Self-Rated Health of Scottish Nurses with English and Welsh Nurses will determine whether any ‘excess’ in worse health outcomes exists and (2a) if an excess does exist, whether the UK consistent deprivation measure can account for this. Analysis is currently ongoing and will be completed, with full results cleared for dissemination through disclosure control, prior to conference. Conclusion/ImplicationsThis study implements methods which provide a basis for cross-national comparison of inequalities using individual-level data and a consistent measure of area deprivation. Results from this study may also permit recommendations to improve the effectiveness of policy aimed at improving population health and reducing socio-economic inequalities in health.

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Health at the ballot box: disease threat does not predict attractiveness preference in British politicians

Royal Society Open Science ◽

10.1098/rsos.160049 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 3 (3) ◽

pp. 160049

Author(s):

Gustav Nilsonne ◽

Adam Renberg ◽

Sandra Tamm ◽

Mats Lekander

Keyword(s):

Infant Mortality ◽

Life Expectancy ◽

Good Health ◽

Cross Sectional Study ◽

Cross Sectional ◽

Self Rated Health ◽

Members Of Parliament ◽

The Usa ◽

Adaptive Behaviours ◽

The Uk

According to disease avoidance theory, selective pressures have shaped adaptive behaviours to avoid people who might transmit infections. Such behavioural immune defence strategies may have social and societal consequences. Attractiveness is perceived as a heuristic cue of good health, and the relative importance of attractiveness is predicted to increase during high disease threat. Here, we investigated whether politicians' attractiveness is more important for electoral success when disease threat is high, in an effort to replicate earlier findings from the USA. We performed a cross-sectional study of 484 members of the House of Commons from England and Wales. Publicly available sexiness ratings (median 5883 ratings/politician) were regressed on measures of disease burden, operationalized as infant mortality, life expectancy and self-rated health. Infant mortality in parliamentary constituencies did not significantly predict sexiness of elected members of parliament ( p = 0.08), nor did life expectancy ( p = 0.06), nor self-rated health ( p = 0.55). Subsample analyses failed to provide further support for the hypothesis. In conclusion, an attractive leader effect was not amplified by disease threat in the UK and these results did not replicate those of earlier studies from the USA concerning the relationship between attractiveness, disease threat and voting preference.

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Self-Rated Health Inequalities in British Nurses

International Journal for Population Data Science ◽

10.23889/ijpds.v5i5.1508 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 5 (5) ◽

Author(s):

William Ball ◽

Iain Atherton ◽

Richard Kyle

Keyword(s):

Health Inequalities ◽

Occupational Group ◽

Area Deprivation ◽

Level Of Education ◽

Self Rated Health ◽

National Differences ◽

The Uk ◽

Deprivation Measure ◽

Cross National ◽

Deprived Areas

IntroductionImprovements in health in the UK are beginning to stall. Differences between the health of people living in the most and least deprived areas continue to grow. An excess in mortality, not explained by deprivation, has been observed in Scotland. Some of this difference likely results from limitations in deprivation measures. Objectives and ApproachWe seek to test whether Nurses experience health inequalities in Self-Rated Health comparable with the general population. We also aim to explore cross-national differences within the Nursing occupational group. We utilise data from Census-derived Longitudinal Studies in Scotland and England & Wales which are linked to an adjusted UK-consistent Multiple Deprivation measure. The databases can only be accessed securely, so an innovative method (eDatashield) has been used to conduct analysis as if the two were combined. Nurses are of interest as they are a large occupational group with potentially protective characteristics against inequalities including high health literacy and level of education. Socioeconomic homogeneity in this group may reduce the effect of confounding when exploring area-based deprivation measures. ResultsComparing Nurses to Non-Nurses we found they have systematically different and more homogenous characteristics. Nurses are; older, have a higher level of education, are more likely to be female, own their home, are less likely to live in deprived areas and they report better Self-Rated Health. However, inequalities persist. Comparing Self-Rated Health of Scottish with English & Welsh Nurses will determine whether an ‘excess’ in worse health outcomes exists and if so, whether the UK- consistent Deprivation Measure can account for this. Full results will be cleared for dissemination through disclosure control, prior to the conference. Conclusion / ImplicationsEven in a privileged group with characteristics which protect against poor health, inequalities remain. The methods applied here present an opportunity for improved cross-national comparison and address limitations in confounding when exploring inequalities based on area deprivation.

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Dietary health and CVD: implications for dietary policy in England

Proceedings of The Nutrition Society ◽

10.1017/s0029665119000600 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 79 (1) ◽

pp. 95-102 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

A. Tedstone ◽

D. Duval ◽

E. Peacock

Keyword(s):

Health System ◽

Saturated Fat ◽

Fruit And Vegetables ◽

Obesity Prevalence ◽

Dietary Recommendations ◽

Inequalities In Health ◽

Policy Interventions ◽

The Uk

CVD is a major burden on the health system in the UK. On average, diets are not aligned with current dietary recommendations, including those for salt, saturated fat, fibre, fruit and vegetables. Obesity prevalence is high and the majority of the population is consuming more energy than required. Addressing these issues would reduce the burden of CVD and help reduce inequalities in health. There is currently a range of policy interventions in place in England designed to help improve diets and reduce obesity, which in turn should help reduce the risk of CVD. Further actions may be needed in the long term to deliver sustained improvements to diet and health.

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Policy interventions in health and safety: What works and when--Evidence from the UK

PsycEXTRA Dataset ◽

10.1037/e577572014-095 ◽

2013 ◽

Author(s):

David Hollis ◽

Stavroula Leka ◽

Aditya Jain ◽

Nicholas J. A. Andreou ◽

Gerard Zwetsloot

Keyword(s):

Health And Safety ◽

Policy Interventions ◽

What Works ◽

The Uk

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THE VALUE OF ROBUST STATISTICAL FORECASTS IN THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC

National Institute Economic Review ◽

10.1017/nie.2021.9 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 256 ◽

pp. 19-43

Author(s):

Jennifer L. Castle ◽

Jurgen A. Doornik ◽

David F. Hendry

Keyword(s):

Structural Change ◽

Measurement Errors ◽

Epidemiological Models ◽

Short Term ◽

Data Measurement ◽

Policy Interventions ◽

Changing Trends ◽

Technological Advances ◽

The Difference ◽

The Uk

The Covid-19 pandemic has put forecasting under the spotlight, pitting epidemiological models against extrapolative time-series devices. We have been producing real-time short-term forecasts of confirmed cases and deaths using robust statistical models since 20 March 2020. The forecasts are adaptive to abrupt structural change, a major feature of the pandemic data due to data measurement errors, definitional and testing changes, policy interventions, technological advances and rapidly changing trends. The pandemic has also led to abrupt structural change in macroeconomic outcomes. Using the same methods, we forecast aggregate UK unemployment over the pandemic. The forecasts rapidly adapt to the employment policies implemented when the UK entered the first lockdown. The difference between our statistical and theory based forecasts provides a measure of the effect of furlough policies on stabilising unemployment, establishing useful scenarios had furlough policies not been implemented.

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Geographical inequalities in health in a time of austerity: Baseline findings from the Stockton-on-Tees cohort study

Health & Place ◽

10.1016/j.healthplace.2017.10.002 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 48 ◽

pp. 111-122 ◽

Cited By ~ 4

Author(s):

R. Bhandari ◽

A. Kasim ◽

J. Warren ◽

N. Akhter ◽

C. Bambra

Keyword(s):

Cohort Study ◽

Inequalities In Health ◽

Geographical Inequalities

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Changing Work and Work-Related Travel and the Impact of Covid-19

Built Environment ◽

10.2148/benv.47.3.336 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 47 (3) ◽

pp. 336-354

Author(s):

Kiron Chatterjee ◽

Fiona Crawford

Keyword(s):

Health Outcomes ◽

Digital Age ◽

Data Series ◽

Work Related ◽

Policy Interventions ◽

Working Practices ◽

Key Features ◽

The Uk ◽

Almost All ◽

The Impact

The nature of work was undergoing dramatic change before the pandemic as the digital age continued to transform all sectors of society. In this paper we describe pre-pandemic trends in types of work, the workforce and working arrangements in the UK. We show how these changes were having gradual yet significant impacts on commuting and other work-related travel which were apparent in national travel data series. Key features of these impacts were increasing diversification and flexibility in work travel. We bring together findings on how working practices and travel have been altered by the pandemic and report expectations and opinions on its longer-term legacies. The pandemic has accelerated pre-pandemic trends and led to a shift in how work is performed for almost all sectors of the economy – but grasping the opportunity for this to contribute to deep carbon reductions from transport and to improve equity and health outcomes will require carefully directed policy interventions.

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