The UK National Statistics Socio-economic Classification and.ppt

The UK National Statistics Socio-economic Classification and an Illustration of its Uses in Research on Health Inequalities David Rose Institute for Social and Economic Research University of Essex Overview UK Government and health inequalities The ESRC Review of Government SECs Conceptual basis of NS-SEC (4) Criterion validation of NS-SEC (5) Construct validation of NS-SEC in relation to health data Health Inequalities and Government (1) Measuring and monitoring socio-economic differentials in mortality and other health inequalities in the UK has been a key part of the work of the office responsible for the registration of deaths since the establishment of the General Register Office (GRO) in 1837. The GRO has since been subsumed within the Office for National Statistics (ONS) and it is now ONS that carries on the tradition of reporting on health variations today. This role continues to be of major importance as health inequalities are as much a public health issue today as they were 170 years ago, when the GRO was set up. Health Inequalities and Government (2) The earliest analyses of mortality differences were undertaken by reference to occupation and industry. However, from the beginning of the twentieth century, the development of RGSC gave a clearer framework for identifying and understanding health differentials within the population. Health Inequalities and Government (3) It was demonstrated that there was a class gradient in health – in particular in mortality rates – and despite the creation of the National Health Service in 1948, class inequalities in health and life expectancy have persisted. Overall, those in ‘partly skilled’ and ‘unskilled’ occupations in RGSC IV and V had far higher mortality rates and lower life expectancy than those in professional and managerial occupations in Classes I and II. Social Class based on Occupation I Professional occupations II Managerial and technical occupations IIIN Skilled occupations, non-manua