Sociodemographic variables for general practices: use of census data

Explaining the Spatial Pattern of Suicide and Self-Harm Rates: A Case Study of East and South East England

“…However, the current study suggests that GP practices in fragmented communities (not necessarily deprived) may experience a higher than average burden of psychiatric illness, self harm, and so on. Fone et al (2007a, p 162) mention that the MINI score can be calculated for GP practices using a weighted proportional allocation (WPA) methodology (Majeed et al 1995), and the same option may be applicable to other constructs such as fragmentation. This could be implemented by developing a range of census and non-census indices (e.g.…”

Meeting the information and budgetary requirements of primary care groups Commentary: Accurate information may be difficult to produce

“…Many of the indicators the NHS Executive proposes to use to monitor the performance of primary care groups are based on data that are not generally available at general practice level4—for example, information on deaths and cancer registrations. Hence, calculation of death rates and cancer registration rates for the populations registered with primary care groups will be difficult with currently available data.…”

“…Estimated socioeconomic variables for use in the resource allocation formula for primary care groups can be produced for general practices by linking patients' postcodes with census data for enumeration districts 4. As with attributed mortality data, however, these census derived variables will also contain errors.…”

Commentary: The basis of a more rational method of funding primary medical care?

“…Secondly, the only socioeconomic variables routinely available for general practices are proxy variables derived by linking patients' postcodes with census data,3 and we do not know if these derived variables are accurate enough to be used to help allocate resources to general practices 4…”