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Lookup NU author(s): Dr Natalie Bennett, Dr Viviana AlbaniORCiD, Dr Andrew KingstonORCiD, Professor Clare BambraORCiD
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY 4.0).
© The Author(s) 2024. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the European Public Health Association. 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.
Author(s): Bennett NC, Norman P, Albani V, Kingston A, Bambra C
Publication type: Article
Publication status: Published
Journal: European Journal of Public Health
Year: 2024
Volume: 34
Issue: 4
Pages: 660-665
Print publication date: 01/08/2024
Online publication date: 07/05/2024
Acceptance date: 02/04/2018
Date deposited: 13/08/2024
ISSN (print): 1101-1262
ISSN (electronic): 1464-360X
Publisher: Oxford University Press
URL: https://doi.org/10.1093/eurpub/ckae081
DOI: 10.1093/eurpub/ckae081
Data Access Statement: The data employed in this analysis are freely available to download from the locations linked in the appropriate references. The code for the data preparation, analyses and graphs will be made available in the Supplementary material.
PubMed id: 38715242
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