Socioeconomic inequalities estimation from public health surveys - data considerations, strengths and limitations

Scientific paper - Original scientific paper

• Title (croatian): Procjena socioekonomskog stanja na temelju podataka iz anketa - osobine, snage i slabosti podataka
• Author: Ozren Polašek
• Author: Selma Šogorić
• Author's institution: University of Zagreb; School of Medicine
• Scientific / art field, discipline and subdiscipline: BIOMEDICINE AND HEALTHCARE; Public Health and Health Care

Abstract (english)

The estimation of socioeconomic inequalities has lately become one of the major topics in public health research, as the numerous studies are showing strong association of inequalities with health status and outcomes. The aim of this study was to provide a general overview of the individual data available for the socioeconomic inequalities estimation from a public health survey and to compare different proxies used for socioeconomic inequalities estimation. The data from the Croatian Adult Health Survey were used, which is a large representative cross-sectional study of the general Croatian population that was performed in 2003. Four variables were compared--education and occupation class, and objective and subjective socioeconomic estimation. Strong regional differences were recorded within Croatia, generally showing better socioeconomic indices in the capital, city of Zagreb. Although all of these variables were significantly associated to one another, breakdown into the gender stratified education-by-occupation groups indicated that income was unevenly distributed in these groups and that it had non-linear association with education, especially in the white-collared occupations. Although socioeconomic inequalities do show striking association with many health related indices and outcomes and should therefore be included in all types of research on human subjects, due attention is needed in research planning, data encoding and entry, as well as interpreting the results based on this data.

Abstract (croatian)

Procjena socioekonomskog stanja je u posljednje vrijeme postala jedna od vrlo čestih tema u istraživanjima u javnom zdravstvu, jer su dosadašnja istraživanja često ukazivala na snažnu povezanost socioekonomskog stanja i zdravstvenih pokazatelja i ishoda. Svrha ovog istraživanja bila je pružiti pregled podataka na osobnoj razini dobivenih u anketnom istraživanju, koji se koriste za procjenu socioekonomskog stanja i usporediti različite pokazatelje socioekonomskog stanja. U istraživanju su korišteni podaci iz Hrvatske zdravstvene ankete, na temelju reprezentativnog uzorka odrasle populacije Hrvatske koji je anketiran tijekom 2003. godine. Korištena su četiri pokazatelja – razina obrazovanja, zanimanje te osobni i stvarni pokazatelji materijalnog stanja. Zabilježene su izražene regionalne razlike unutar Hrvatske, s najboljim pokazateljima u gradu Zagrebu. Iako su četiri istraživana pokazatelja bila snažno povezana, podjela u spolne odijeljene skupine po obrazovanju i zanimanju ukazala je na nelinearnu povezanost prihoda s obrazovanjem, posebno izraženu kod ispitanika s zanimanjima bijelog ovratnika. Iako socioekonomsko stanje pokazuje snažnu povezanost s raznim pokazateljima zdravlja i bolesti i njihovim ishodima i stoga bi se ovi podaci trebali prikupljati u svim istraživanjima koja uključuju ljude, potrebno je posvetiti dosta pažnje prilikom planiranja istraživanja, načinu na koji se podaci šifriraju i unose, kao i interpretaciji rezultata..

• Keywords (english): Adult; Croatia/epidemiology; Cross-Sectional Studies; Educational Status; Female; Health Status Disparities; Health Surveys; Humans; Income; Linear Models; Male; Occupations; Residence Characteristics; Social Class
• Language: english
• Publication type: Scientific paper - Original scientific paper
• Publication status: Published
• Peer review: Peer review
• Publication version: Published version
• Journal title: Collegium Antropologicum
• Numbering: vol. 33, no. S. 1, pp. 171-176
• p-ISSN: 0350-6134
• URN:NBN: urn:nbn:hr:105:591000
• Publication: 2009-04
• Document URL: https://hrcak.srce.hr/39746
• Type of resource: Text
• Access conditions: Open access
• Created on: 2024-03-28 11:16:23