A census-based socio-economic status (SES) index as a tool to examine the relationship between mental health services use and deprivation.

This paper discusses the development and application of a socio-economic status (SES) index, created to explore the relationship between socio-economic variables and psychiatric service use. The study was conducted in a community-based mental health service (CMHS) in Verona, Northern Italy, utilising service use data from 1996. An ecological SES index was constructed through a factor analysis from 1991 Census data, at census block level.

Demographic, clinical, social and service variables associated with higher needs for care in community psychiatric service patients. The South Verona Outcome Project 8.

Background: Mental health services should be provided on the basis of need. This study investigated a representative sample of patients attending a community-based psychiatric service. The aim was to identify the profile of patients with higher needs for care, by considering a full range of potential demographic, clinical, social and service correlates.

[Socioeconomic inequalities and mental health. II. Methodological aspects and literature review].

Objective: This study provides a framework for mental health inequalities beginners. It describes the methods used to measure socio economic inequalities and the inter-relations with different aspects of mental health: residence, mental health services organisation and main diagnostic categories.

Method: Literature electronic-search on Medline, Psyclit, Econlit, Social Science Index and SocioSearch using and relating the key-words inequalities, deprivation, poverty, socio-economic status, social class, occupational class, mental health for the period 1965-2002 (June).

[Socio-economic inequalities and mental health. I. Concepts, theories, and interpretations].

Aims: Reconstructing the models used for approaching the inequalities issues in health, identifying the most relevant theoretical and conceptual contributions.

Method: Literature electronic-search on Medline, Psyclit, Econlit, Social Science Index and SocioSearch using the key-words inequalities, deprivation, poverty, socio-economic status, social class, occupational class, mental health for the period 1965-2002; integrated with manual search. The material was classified according to the conceptual and theoretical interpretative models or to the analyses of the association 'inequalities-health' where health was expressed as mortality, morbidity or services utilisation.