ArticlePloS one2021
Inequality indices to monitor geographic differences in incidence, mortality and fatality rates over time during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Article in PloS one, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 3 papers.
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Who cites it
3 citing papers in PubMed.
- Quantifying the Regional Disproportionality of COVID-19 Spread: Modeling Study.JMIR formative research · 2025Article
- Spatial-temporal distribution of incidence, mortality, and case-fatality ratios of coronavirus disease 2019 and its social determinants in Brazilian municipalities.Scientific reports · 2023Article
- Inequities in ambulance allocation associated with transfer delay and mortality in acute coronary syndrome patients: evidence from 89 emergency medical stations in China.International journal for equity in health · 2022Article
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Authors and funding
2 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundIt is of interest to explore the variability in how the COVID-19 pandemic evolved geographically during the first twelve months. To this end, we apply inequality indices over regions to incidences, infection related mortality, and infection fatality rates. If avoiding of inequality in health is an important political goal, a metric must be implemented to track geographical inequality over time.
methodsThe relative and absolute Gini index as well as the Theil index are used to quantify inequality. Data are taken from international data bases. Absolute counts are transformed to rates adjusted for population size.
resultsComparing continents, the absolute Gini index shows an unfavorable development in four continents since February 2020. In contrast, the relative Gini as well as the Theil index support the interpretation of less inequality between European countries compared to other continents. Infection fatality rates within the EU as well as within the U.S. express comparable improvement towards more equality (as measured by both Gini indices).
conclusionsThe use of inequality indices to monitor changes in geographic inequality over time for key health indicators is a valuable tool to inform public health policies. The absolute and relative Gini index behave complementary and should be reported simultaneously in order to gain a meta-perspective on very complex dynamics.
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