Concept: Social and Material Deprivation Indices

Introduction

This concept describes the methodology for developing two indices measuring Social Deprivation and Material Deprivation and the use of these indices in MCHP research. Both are small-area based composite indices calculated from Canadian Census data which reflect the deprivation of relationships among individuals in the family, the workplace, and the community (social deprivation) and the deprivation of wealth, goods and conveniences (material deprivation).

This concept provides detailed information on the Social and Material Deprivation Indices, including:


• a definition and origin of the indices;
  
• a description of the methodology used to develop the indices, including a list of variables used in each index, the major steps for creating values for the indices, discussion of the SAS® formats and links to SAS code examples for using the indices, and links to a list of factor scores and the mean and median by RHA for each of 5-year Census periods from 1981 to 2021; and
  
• a description of how the indices have been used in MCHP research, with links to detailed information and results published in MCHP research.

The majority of information for this concept is taken from The 2013 RHA Indicators Atlas (2013) deliverable and through discussion with staff directly involved in developing the indices.

Definition of Social and Material Deprivation Indices

Both the Social and Material Deprivation Indices are factor scores based on Canadian Census data. The scores are constructed at the Dissemination Area (DA) level reported in the census and can then be reported at different geographic levels (e.g.: by Regional Health Authority (RHA) or by Winnipeg Community Areas). Lower scores (e.g., below zero) indicate a better status (less deprivation), while scores higher than zero indicate a worse status (more deprivation). These indices were originally developed by Pampalon and Raymond (2000) and are described in Metge et al. (2009) as:


• Social Deprivation Index - reflects the deprivation of relationships among individuals in the family, the workplace, and the community. This index includes the following indicators: proportion of the population separated, divorced, or widowed; proportion of the population that lives alone; and proportion of the population that has moved in the past five years.
  
• Material Deprivation Index - reflects the deprivation of goods and conveniences. This index includes the following indicators: average household income; unemployment rate; and high school education rate (Pampalon and Raymond, 2000).

MCHP used the original ideas of this research and developed a working version of the indices based on available Canadian Census data for Manitoba.

Methodology

The methodology section of this concept identifies the variables used for calculating the Social and Material Deprivation Indices, describes the major steps in creating the indices, provides links to example SAS® code and formats related to creating and using these two indices, and provides links to the factor scores and the mean and median by RHA developed from the 5-year Census data over time, from 1981 to 2021.

Census Variables Used to Create the Social and Material Deprivation Indices

The variables used to create the Social and Material Deprivation Indices come directly, or are derived from Canadian Census data. The variables used for each index are listed below:


Social Deprivation Index



• the proportion of the population aged 15 and older who are separated, divorced, or widowed;
  
• the proportion of the population that lives alone; and
  
• the proportion of the population that has moved at least once in the past five years.
  
  NOTE: For the 1981 Census, the variable "proportion of the population that lives alone" is not available. Another variable "proportion of single parent households" is used as a proxy.


Material Deprivation Index



• average household income;
  
• the unemployment rate of the population aged 15 and older; and
  
• the proportion of the population aged 15 and older without high school graduation.

NOTE: The SAS code examples below contain specific variable names used in the 2011 Census and the coding necessary to calculate the Social and Material Deprivation factor scores. The specific Census variables may change over time, depending on the Census year, so these descriptions are generalizable for other Census years.

Major Steps in Creating the Indices

The five major steps in creating values for the Social and Material Deprivation Indices at MCHP, as summarized from the SAS code examples below, include:

Step 1 - read in Census data at the dissemination area (DA) level and calculate the derived variables;

Step 2 - read in Census data at the Census Sub-Division (CSD) level and calculate the derived variables;

Step 3 - impute missing values at the DA level with CSD values;

Step 4 - calculate weighted mean values of census variables for northern and southern First Nations communities and impute for northern and southern First Nations communities with missing values, respectively. The Postal Code Conversion File (PCCF) is used to provide latitude information for determining if First Nations communities are above or below the 53rd parallel;

Step 5 - run a factor analysis to calculate the social and material deprivation factor scores at the DA level.

Social and Material Deprivation Factor Scores

Factor scores have been developed for the Census years 1981 to 2021, based on the appropriate Census data available. In addition, the mean and median values for each RHA, and for Manitoba, are also available for each index for each 5-year Census interval from 1981 to 2021. This information is available in the following two pdf documents:


• Social-and-Material-Deprivation-Factor-Scores-1981-2021.pdf
  
• Mean-and-Median-Social-and-Material-Deprivation-Values-by-RHA-1981-2021.pdf

CAUTION

• As with income quintiles, there will be postal codes that have a missing factor score. This may be because of a variety of reasons including:
  
  
  • Census data was suppressed (and a valid value could not be imputed);
    
  • The postal code was not in the postal code conversion file (PCCF); and
    
  • The postal code is new, and not in the format

SAS Code Examples and Formats

SAS® code and formats have been developed for using the Social and Material Deprivation Indices. The SAS Code and Formats section below contains example SAS code/programs for running the indices factor analysis. Both internal and external versions of this code are available.

Formats

SAS formats are available in the MCHP SAS Format Library (internal access only) for applying the Material and Social Deprivation factor scores to a population via postal codes. The formats are available annually from 1979 to 2021. The indices use Census data from the years 1981, 1986, 1991, 1996, 2001, 2006, 2011, 2016 and 2021, and the Census data used for each annual format is the one that is closest to the year in question, within +/- 2 years. For example, the 2016 Census values are applied to the formats for calendar years 2014-2018.

A valid Manitoba postal code is required to use the format and assign the index score to a record. The following examples calculate the corresponding social and material deprivation factor scores by postal code for the year 2011.

social = input(postal,soc11f.);
material = input(postal,mat11f.);

For 2021, the following code is used to calculate SOCIAL and MATERIAL index values, using the 2021 Census data.

social = input(postal,soc21f);
material = input(postal,mat21f);

NOTE: the annual format names usually include only the last two digits of the applicable calendar year.

CAUTION

• The formats apply the average factor score value for a particular postal code, but some postal codes may contain more than one Dissemination Area (DA)/Enumeration Area (EA) and vice versa. In some situations, especially First Nations communities that are adjacent to a town and share the same postal code, a higher SES value may be assigned to that area. In the case where you are analyzing data by small geographical area or by First Nations community, it is suggested the SAS code available below - Applying the Factor Scores to the Population - SAS Code (internal access only) - should be used to apply the index score to the population, not the formats.

MCHP Research Using the Social and Material Deprivation Indices

This section identifies MCHP publications that have used the Social and Material Deprivation Indices in their research. For each publication there is a brief description of how the indices were used and links to specific information available in the publication.

Metge et al. (2009)

In the Composite Measures/Indices of Health and Health System Performance deliverable by Metge et al. (2009), they investigated Social and Material deprivation at the RHA and Winnipeg Community Area levels.

For more information on the methods and results found in this research, please read section 8.6.2 Social and Material Deprivation Indices in this deliverable.

Brownell et al. (2012)

In the How are Manitoba's Children Doing? deliverable by Brownell et al. (2012), they used Structured Equation Modeling (SEM) to predict children's outcomes in Kindergarten and in grade 3. Social and material deprivation are investigated to determine whether they have an influence on child development. They found that social deprivation had very minimal influence on the other factors in the model, and the model fit was not adequate. However, material deprivation increased the model fit and was strongly related to other factors in the model. In the final models, only material deprivation (related to a child's mother) was included.

The Material Deprivation construct was developed using four variables, including:

Variable Name	Definition
On income assistance	A dichotomous measure of whether the child's family member received income assistance
Labour force participation	An area level measure of the proportion of people who lived in a family that is not in the labor force
No high school education	An area level measure of the proportion of people who have not completed high school
Live in poor neighbourhood	A dichotomous measure of whether the child lived in a poor neighbourhood (Q1 and Q2 income quintiles)

For more information on the influence of material deprivation on the models, please read the related information starting half way down on page 219 to page 226 and see Appendix Table A10.1: Summary of Structural Equation Models of EDI Domains and Grade 3 Outcomes in this deliverable.

Fransoo et al. (2013)

In The 2013 RHA Indicators Atlas deliverable by Fransoo et al. (2013), Social and Material Deprivation indices were calculated for large geographical regions (e.g.: Regional Health Authorities (RHA) and Winnipeg Community Areas) and comparisons to the Manitoba average for each index were also calculated.

For more information on the methods and results found in this research, please read section 2.3 Material and Social Deprivation in this deliverable.

Additional factor analyses were run separately for males and females, urban versus rural areas, as well as using average personal income instead of average household income. This information is available in the RHA 2013 Atlas Online Appendix, available for download from the MCHP website.

Fransoo et al. (2019)

In The 2019 RHA Indicators Atlas deliverable by Fransoo et al. (2019), Social and Material Deprivation indices were calculated for 2011 and 2016 for large geographical regions (e.g.: Regional Health Authorities (RHA)) and comparisons to the Manitoba average for each index were also calculated. They also produced a 20-year time trend analysis for the indices.

For more information on the methods and results found in this research, please read the following sections in the deliverable:

• Online Technical Definitions - Social and Material Deprivation Indices.
  
• section 2.3 Material Deprivation Index in the online deliverable.
  
• section 2.4 Social Deprivation Index in the online deliverable.