Do alternative weighting approaches for an Index of Multiple Deprivation change the association with mortality? A sensitivity analysis from Germany.

Objectives: This study aimed to assess the impact of using different weighting procedures for the German Index of Multiple Deprivation (GIMD) investigating their link to mortality rates.

Design And Setting: In addition to the original (normative) weighting of the GIMD domains, four alternative weighting approaches were applied: equal weighting, linear regression, maximization algorithm and factor analysis. Correlation analyses to quantify the association between the differently weighted GIMD versions and mortality based on district-level official data from Germany in 2010 were applied (n=412 districts).

Incorporating Environmental Justice into Second Generation Indices of Multiple Deprivation: Lessons from the UK and Progress Internationally.

Second generation area-based indices of multiple deprivation have been extensively used in the UK over the last 15 years. They resulted from significant developments in political, technical, and conceptual spheres for deprivation data. We review the parallel development of environmental justice research and how and when environmental data was incorporated into these indices.

Relative importance of physical and social aspects of perceived neighbourhood environment for self-reported health.

Objective: To explore the relative importance of the perceived physical and social neighbourhood environment for physical and mental health.

Methods: A representative random sample of adults was recruited from 10 areas across Stoke-on-Trent, UK (June-September 2007). Interview-administered surveys were used to record data on the perceived neighbourhood environment (physical and social), self-reported health, and socio-demographics.

Social inequities in environmental risks associated with housing and residential location--a review of evidence.

Background: Housing conditions and environmental quality of residential areas are differentially distributed in the population. Less affluent population groups are more often affected by inadequate housing conditions and higher environmental burden in their residential neighbourhoods. A synthesis of the dispersed evidence on health-related housing characteristics and social status is needed to provide support for housing policies addressing social inequities.

Small area and individual level predictors of physical activity in urban communities: a multi-level study in Stoke on Trent, England.

Reducing population physical inactivity has been declared a global public health priority. We report a detailed multi-level analysis of small area indices and individual factors as correlates of physical activity in deprived urban areas. Multi-level regression analysis was used to investigate environmental and individual correlates of physical activity.

Design of a pragmatic cluster randomised controlled trial: ecological approach to increasing physical activity in an urban community.

This study was set up to test an ecological intervention using a pragmatic cluster randomised controlled design (RCT) aimed at increasing physical activity (PA) within the community in a deprived inner-city area in the UK. The research will provide a detailed mapping (using Graphical Information Systems GIS) of the environment at lower super output area (SOA) level in Stoke-on-Trent (SoT) and will evaluate the relationship between the environment, PA behaviour, health and healthcare utilisation. The environmental mapping will aggregate data from a wide range of available databases, augmented by local data gathering and validation, to produce a comprehensive geo-coded map of 10 SOAs (covering a population ~15,000).