Small area profiles of health needs
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Small area, geodemographic profiling of health needs
IRAS ID
130219
Contact name
Paul Longley
Contact email
Research summary
This application builds on a previous, approved application of research that has used extracts from Hospital Episode Statistics (HES) to assess health needs based on small area information in relation to the location of service providers as well as primary care patient registers to identify patterns of health care utilisation by different types of patients. The proposed follow-up research will be updated with latest HES records to include reference to the 2011 Census and extended in two respects.
The first extension will refine the previous assessment of health needs by increasing spatial resolution and including the full spectrum of medical conditions as registered in hospital admissions. Extracts from Hospital Episode Statistics will be used to develop a small area geography (based on ONS Grid reference) with similar health profiles at multiple scales, which will subsequently be appended by area-based demographic, social, cultural, geographical, economic information (so-called geodemographic information) derived from census and potentially other providers (such as ACORN).
The second extension will develop the previous utilisation of fore and surnames. The previous research and other recent research in Geographic Information Science has shown that name classification can provide a powerful, alternative specification of geodemographic information. Surnames can reflect a variety of individual characteristics ranging from broader ethnic classifications to specific, biological or genetic heritage through common geographic ancestry. Research suggests that it is likely that the use of names-derived patient classifications can contribute to understanding health needs and the provision and quality of care, as genetic and biological predispositions can be incorporated into decision support of care providers.
The analysis will be carried out for the last two census periods 2001 and 2011, which will permit observation of change in health needs alongside local changes in the population structure as well as changes in social and economic conditions.REC name
London - Bromley Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
13/LO/1355
Date of REC Opinion
30 Sep 2013
REC opinion
Favourable Opinion