Abstract
In contrast to area-based deprivation measures, commercial datasets remain infrequently used in health research and policy. Experian collates numerous commercial and administrative data sources to produce Mosaic groups which stratify households into 15 groups for marketing purposes. We assessed the potential utility of Mosaic groups for health research purposes by investigating their relationships with Indices of Multiple Deprivation (IMD) for the British population. Mosaic groups showed significant associations with IMD quintiles. Correspondence Analysis revealed variations in patterns of association, with Mosaic groups either showing increasing, decreasing, or some mixed trends with deprivation quintiles. These results suggest that Experian's Mosaics additionally measure other aspects of socioeconomic circumstances to those captured by deprivation measures. These commercial data may provide new insights into the social determinants of health at a small area level.
Highlights
Available socioeconomic measures are needed for health services planning and research (Krieger et al, 2002; Galobardes et al, 2006)
Indices of Multiple Deprivation (IMD) relies on benefits data which may no longer be available after welfare reform in the United Kingdom (UK), while the potential abolition of the decennial census threatens the future of Carstairs scores (Office for National Statistics, 2015)
Our study showed the proportion of Mosaic groups varied across deprivation levels, with some Mosaics showing consistently increasing or decreasing patterns, while others showed mixed trends with IMD quintiles
Summary
Available socioeconomic measures are needed for health services planning and research (Krieger et al, 2002; Galobardes et al, 2006). The global need for population-specific socio-economic indicators for predicting health outcomes and studying inequalities at smaller geographies, for example, using measures such as Geodemographics has been highlighted in several recent international studies (Lopez-De Fede et al, 2016; Berkowitz et al, 2015; Halonen et al, 2013; Havard et al, 2008; Cabrera-Barona et al, 2015) This alternative source of information might act as an alternative to deprivation measures, and facilitate the investigation of novel targets for intervention or the development of new measures that facilitate monitoring of local areas (Doos et al, 2014; Farr et al, 2008). The latter issue is pertinent at present, given the need for local data that are amenable to monitoring at regular intervals to guide the actions of public health activity located in local authorities in England and Health and Social Care Partnerships in Scotland
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