4.8 Assignment: health needs mapping

Assignment Activity

Download the instructions and data in the attached pdf (see id_177_v3 ), and complete the exercise, which will step you through the creation of a Carstairs deprivation index for southeast England.

Using the techniques presented in this activity, calculate an area deprivation index for another study site of your choosing, either in the UK or elsewhere. If you wish, you may use different input variables to the Carstairs index. For example, if your chosen area was in London where car ownership is generally low, you might choose to replace car ownership with a different variable instead, thereby producing your own deprivation index. You might also consider using 2011 rather than 2001 census data. You may wish to consider looking at a specific form of deprivation, for example digital exclusion.

In your report, of no more than 1,500 words, you should provide a brief overview of the measurement of area deprivation, explain how you created your deprivation index and use appropriate graphics to describe the pattern of deprivation in your chosen area. In the discussion, you should evaluate the appropriateness of your index for assessing health needs in your chosen area.