Quantifying Inequalities in Childhood Immunization Using Summary Measures of Health Inequality: An Application of WHO Stata and R 'Healthequal' Packages.

Monitoring immunization inequalities is crucial for achieving equity in vaccine coverage. Summary measures of health inequality provide a single numerical expression of immunization inequality. However, the impact of different summary measures on conclusions about immunization inequalities has not been thoroughly studied.

Strengthening and expanding health inequality monitoring for the advancement of health equity: a review of WHO resources and contributions.

As part of its commitment to advance health equity, the World Health Organization (WHO) has a developed area of work to promote and strengthen health inequality monitoring. This includes an emphasis on the collection, analysis and use of disaggregated health data, which are central to evidence-informed decision making. The aim of this paper is to review WHO's work on health inequality monitoring, namely the 2022-27 Inequality monitoring and analysis strategy and corresponding activities, resources and tools.

Global state of education-related inequality in COVID-19 vaccine coverage, structural barriers, vaccine hesitancy, and vaccine refusal: findings from the Global COVID-19 Trends and Impact Survey.

Background: COVID-19 vaccine coverage and experiences of structural and attitudinal barriers to vaccination vary across populations. Education-related inequality in COVID-19 vaccine coverage and barriers within and between countries can provide insight into the hypothesised role of education as a correlate of vaccine access and acceptability. We aimed to characterise patterns of within-country education-related inequality in COVID-19 vaccine indicators across 90 countries.

Health Equity Assessment Toolkit (HEAT and HEAT Plus): exploring inequalities in the COVID-19 pandemic era.

Background: The Sustainable Development Goals have helped to focus attention on the importance of reducing inequality and 'leaving no one behind'. Monitoring health inequalities is essential for providing evidence to inform policies, programmes and practices that can close existing gaps and achieve health equity. The Health Equity Assessment Toolkit (HEAT and HEAT Plus) software was developed by the World Health Organization to facilitate the assessment of within-country health inequalities.

Education-related inequalities in beliefs and behaviors pertaining to COVID-19 non-pharmaceutical interventions.

Background: The coronavirus pandemic has exposed existing social inequalities in relation to disease preventive behaviors, risk of exposure, testing and healthcare access, and consequences as a result of illness and containment measures across different population groups. However, due to a lack of data, to date there has been limited evidence of the extent of such within-country inequalities globally.

Methods: We examined education-related inequalities in four COVID-19 prevention and testing indicators within 90 countries, using data from the University of Maryland Social Data Science Center Global COVID-19 Trends and Impact Survey, in partnership with Facebook, over the period 1 June 2021 to 31 December 2021.

Health Inequality Monitoring channel on OpenWHO: capacity strengthening through eLearning.

Background: Health inequality monitoring can generate important evidence to inform and motivate changes to policy, programmes and practices. However, the potential of health inequality monitoring practices to quantify inequalities between population subgroups and track progress on the advancement of health equity is under-realized. Capacity strengthening on health inequality monitoring can play an important role in enhancing political will for the generation and use of disaggregated data and for wider adoption of this practice to inform health decision-making.

Gender-Related Inequality in Childhood Immunization Coverage: A Cross-Sectional Analysis of DTP3 Coverage and Zero-Dose DTP Prevalence in 52 Countries Using the SWPER Global Index.

Gender-related barriers to immunization are key targets to improve immunization coverage and equity. We used individual-level demographic and health survey data from 52 low- and middle-income countries to examine the relationship between women's social independence (measured by the Survey-based Women's emPowERment (SWPER) Global Index) and childhood immunization. The primary outcome was receipt of three doses of the diphtheria-tetanus-pertussis vaccine (DTP3) among children aged 12-35 months; we secondarily examined failure to receive any doses of DTP-containing vaccines.

Association between childhood immunisation coverage and proximity to health facilities in rural settings: a cross-sectional analysis of Service Provision Assessment 2013-2014 facility data and Demographic and Health Survey 2015-2016 individual data in Malawi.

Objectives: Despite significant progress in childhood vaccination coverage globally, substantial inequality remains. Remote rural populations are recognised as a priority group for immunisation service equity. We aimed to link facility and individual data to examine the relationship between distance to services and immunisation coverage empirically, specifically using a rural population.

Correction: Schlotheuber, A.; Hosseinpoor, A.R. Summary Measures of Health Inequality: A Review of Existing Measures and Their Application. 2022, , 3697.

Several errors were introduced after proofreading, and the authors hence wish to make the following corrections to this paper [...

Exploring the potential for a new measure of socioeconomic deprivation status to monitor health inequality.

Background: Monitoring health inequalities is an important task for health research and policy, to uncover who is being left behind - and where - and to inform effective and equitable policies and programmes to tackle existing inequities. The choice of which measure to use to monitor and analyse health inequalities is thereby not trivial. This article explores a new measure of socioeconomic deprivation status (SDS) to monitor health inequalities.

Economic-Related Inequalities in Zero-Dose Children: A Study of Non-Receipt of Diphtheria-Tetanus-Pertussis Immunization Using Household Health Survey Data from 89 Low- and Middle-Income Countries.

Despite advances in scaling up new vaccines in low- and middle-income countries, the global number of unvaccinated children has remained high over the past decade. We used 2000-2019 household survey data from 154 surveys representing 89 low- and middle-income countries to assess within-country, economic-related inequality in the prevalence of one-year-old children with zero doses of diphtheria-tetanus-pertussis (DTP) vaccine. Zero-dose DTP prevalence data were disaggregated by household wealth quintile.

Summary Measures of Health Inequality: A Review of Existing Measures and Their Application.

Measuring and monitoring health inequalities is key to achieving health equity. While disaggregated data are commonly used to assess differences in health between different population subgroups, summary measures of health inequality also play a vital role in monitoring health inequalities. Building on disaggregated data, they quantify the level of inequality in a single number and are useful to compare inequality over time and across different health indicators, programmes and settings.

Subnational inequalities in diphtheria-tetanus-pertussis immunization in 24 countries in the African Region.

Objective: To analyse subnational inequality in diphtheria-tetanus-pertussis (DTP) immunization dropout in 24 African countries using administrative data on receipt of the first and third vaccine doses (DTP1 and DTP3, respectively) collected by the Joint Reporting Process of the World Health Organization and the United Nations Children's Fund.

Methods: Districts in each country were grouped into quintiles according to the proportion of children who dropped out between DTP1 and DTP3 (i.e.

Measuring health inequalities in the context of sustainable development goals.

Transforming our world: the 2030 agenda for sustainable development promotes the improvement of health equity, which entails ongoing monitoring of health inequalities. The World Health Organization has developed a multistep approach to health inequality monitoring consisting of: (i) determining the scope of monitoring; (ii) obtaining data; (iii) analysing data; (iv) reporting results; and (v) implementing changes. Technical considerations at each step have implications for the results and conclusions of monitoring and subsequent remedial actions.

Subnational regional inequality in access to improved drinking water and sanitation in Indonesia: results from the 2015 Indonesian National Socioeconomic Survey (SUSENAS).

Background: Universal and equitable access to safe and affordable drinking water and adequate sanitation and hygiene in Indonesia are vital to ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages.

Objectives: To quantify subnational regional inequality in access to improved drinking water and sanitation in Indonesia.

Methods: Data about access to improved drinking water and sanitation were derived from the 2015 Indonesian National Socioeconomic Survey (SUSENAS) and disaggregated by 510 districts across the 34 provinces of Indonesia.

Health Equity Assessment Toolkit Plus (HEAT Plus): software for exploring and comparing health inequalities using uploaded datasets.

As a key step in advancing the sustainable development goals, the World Health Organisation (WHO) has placed emphasis on building capacity for measuring and monitoring health inequalities. A number of resources have been developed, including the Health Equity Assessment Toolkit (HEAT), a software application that facilitates the assessment of within-country health inequalities. Following user demand, an Upload Database Edition of HEAT, HEAT Plus, was developed.

Socio-economic, demographic and geographic correlates of cigarette smoking among Indonesian adolescents: results from the 2013 Indonesian Basic Health Research (RISKESDAS) survey.

Background: The prevalence of adolescent tobacco use in Indonesia is among the highest in the world. Monitoring the extent and distribution of adolescent cigarette smoking is crucial to being able to target prevention and reduction strategies and evaluate the effectiveness of interventions.

Objectives: To quantify the prevalence of adolescent cigarette smoking in Indonesia and assess the association with key socio-economic, demographic and geographic factors.