Materially Deprived Research Articles

Double burden of deprivation and high concentrations of ambient air pollution at the neighbourhood scale in Montreal, Canada

Some neighbourhoods in urban areas are characterised by concentrations of socially and materially deprived populations. Additionally, levels of ambient air pollution in a city can be variable at the local scale and can create disparities in air quality between neighbourhoods. Socioeconomic and physical characteristics of neighbourhood environments can affect the health and well-being of local residents. In this paper we identify whether neighbourhoods in Montreal, Canada characterised by social and material deprivation have higher levels of ambient air pollution than do others. We collected two-week integrated samples of nitrogen dioxide (NO(2)) at 133 sites in Montreal during three seasons between 2005 and 2006. We used these data in a geographic information system, along with data describing characteristics of land use, roads, and traffic, to create a spatial model of predicted mean annual concentrations of NO(2) across Montreal. Next, we collected neighbourhood socioeconomic information for 501 census tracts and overlaid their boundaries on the pollution surface. We calculated Pearson correlation coefficients and 95% confidence intervals (CI) between neighbourhood-level indicators of deprivation and levels of ambient NO(2). We found associations between concentrations of NO(2) and neighbourhood-level indicators of material deprivation, including median household income, and with indicators of social deprivation, including proportion of people living alone. We identified specific neighbourhoods that were characterised by a double burden of high levels of deprivation and high concentrations of ambient NO(2). Because of the particular social geography in Montreal, we found that not all deprived neighbourhoods had high levels of pollution and that some affluent neighbourhoods in the downtown core had high levels. Our results underscore the importance of considering social contexts in interpreting general associations between social and environmental risks to population health.

Linking Social Deprivation and Digital Exclusion in England

This paper develops a cross-classification of material deprivation and lack of digital engagement, at a far more spatially disaggregated level than has previously been attempted in the UK. This is achieved by matching the 2004 Index of Multiple Deprivation (IMD) with a unique nation-wide geodemographic classification of ICT usage, aggregated to unit postcodes. The results of the cross-classification suggest that lack of digital engagement and material deprivation are linked, with high levels of material deprivation generally associated with low levels of engagement with ICTs and vice versa. However, some neighbourhoods are `digitally unengaged' but not materially deprived and the paper investigates the extent to which this outcome may be linked to factors such as lack of confidence, skills or motivation. As with material deprivation, there are distinctive regional and local geographies of digital unengagement and these have important implications for digital policy implementation.

Relation Between Gastroesophageal Reflux Symptoms and Socioeconomic Factors: A Population-Based Study (the HUNT Study)

Gastroesophageal reflux constitutes a major public health problem in the Western world. Few population-based studies have addressed socioeconomic factors in relation to reflux. We conducted a case-control study based on 2 health surveys performed in the Norwegian county of Nord-Trondelag in 1984-1986 and 1995-1997, respectively. Reflux was assessed in the second survey, comprising 65,333 participants representing 70% of the county's adult population. Among 58,596 persons responding to questions regarding reflux symptoms, 3153 persons reporting severe symptoms represented the cases, and 40,210 persons without symptoms represented the controls. Data collected in questionnaires included socioeconomic status (SES) based on occupation, education, and material deprivation; family situation; and potential confounders. Odds ratios (ORs) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were estimated from unconditional logistic regression in crude models and models adjusted for age, sex, smoking, and body mass. The risk of reflux increased with decreasing levels of SES based on occupation, education, and material deprivation. Increased risks of reflux were seen among unskilled laborers (OR, 1.6; 95% CI, 1.3-2.0), skilled laborers (OR, 1.4; 95% CI, 1.1-1.7), and self-employed and farmers (OR, 1.3; 95% CI, 1.1-1.6). A 1.9-fold (95% CI, 1.7-2.2) increased risk of reflux was observed among persons with low education, compared with highly educated persons. Reflux was more common among materially deprived persons (OR, 3.4; 95% CI, 2.9-4.1). The results were similar in crude and adjusted models. This large population-based study reveals a link between low SES and reflux symptoms that is not explained by the known risk factors of smoking or obesity. This finding deserves further research.

Contextual effects of social fragmentation and material deprivation on risk of myocardial infarction--results from the Stockholm Heart Epidemiology Program (SHEEP).

Socioeconomic deprivation has been suggested as a contextual feature of importance for cardiovascular disease and mortality, whereas the effect of social fragmentation has largely been studied in relation to suicide. In this study we examine the contextual effects of social fragmentation and material deprivation on the incidence of myocardial infarction (MI). A population-based case-control study (SHEEP). The study base included all Swedish citizens aged 45-70 living in the Stockholm metropolitan area. Cases (n = 1631) were all first events of MI during 1992-1994. Exposure information on individual risk factors was obtained from a questionnaire. Areas (n = 862) were classified according to the Townsend index, measuring material deprivation, and the Congdon index, measuring social fragmentation. We found increased incidence of MI in both materially deprived and socially fragmented contexts that were not due to confounding from individual social risk factors being more prevalent among subjects in deprived settings. The adjusted relative risk of MI was 2.0 (95% CI: 1.3, 3.1) for women living in the top quartile of materially deprived areas. For men, the adjusted relative risk (RR) was 1.6 (95% CI: 1.2, 2.1). Women living in the top quartile of socially fragmented areas had an RR of MI of 1.6 (95% CI: 1.0, 2.5) after adjustment, while the corresponding figure for men was 1.4 (95% CI: 1.0, 1.8). Our findings support the notion that the social context in which people live has an impact on the risk of coronary heart disease. We could not determine which of the contextual aspects under study made the most substantial contribution. Mutual adjustment of the two indices suggests that material deprivation is the dominating factor, especially for women. However, the indices were highly correlated (r = 0.87), and it cannot be ruled out that they partly measure the same underlying phenomenon.

Measuring the Social Environment: Social Cohesion and Material Deprivation in English and Scottish Neighbourhoods

Despite increasing interest in macrosocial determinants of health, progress has been hampered by a lack of information on contextual factors and a lack of clarity in defining aspects of the social environment which may be important. A theoretical and empirical approach to measuring social cohesion in neighbourhoods in England and Scotland is described. Some forms of social networks, such as contact with friends and participation in organised groups, promoted trust, attachment to neighbourhood, and tolerance or respect for others. Notably, neighbourhoods in which family ties were predominant tended to be less tolerant. The cognitive aspects of social cohesion (trust, attachment, practical help, and tolerance or respect) tended to be lower in more materially deprived areas. Both the material and social characteristics of places may contribute to spatial variations in health.

The “Let's Get Alarmed!” initiative: a smoke alarm giveaway programme

Objectives—To reduce fires and fire related injuries by increasing the prevalence of functioning smoke alarms in high risk households. Setting—The programme was delivered in an inner London area with above...

Child Maltreatment and Material Deprivation among AFDC-Recipient Families

In order to identify factors associated with child maltreatment among poverty families, 380 welfare recipients in northern New Jersey receiving protective services from the public child-welfare agency were compared with a random sample of 144 welfare recipients not identified as maltreating their children. The results support the centrality of material and social deprivation as factors leading to child maltreatment. A high level of material deprivation characterized both groups; however, the families in which maltreatment occurred live under poorer material circumstances, had more socially and materially deprived childhoods, are more socially isolated, and have more children. These families are the poorest of the poor. The findings fail to support prevalent approaches that emphasize psychodynamic interpretations and, treatment. In contrast, the study suggests policy changes at both the agency and governmental levels which would provide more concrete resources to these families.