Evidence map›Paper›PMID 35397583›Full record

ArticleInternational journal for equity in health2022

Comparison of household socioeconomic status classification methods and effects on risk estimation: lessons from a natural experimental study, Kisumu, Western Kenya.

Vincent Were, Louise Foley, Eleanor Turner-Moss, Ebele Mogo, Pamela Wadende, Rosemary Musuva, Charles Obonyo

Open access · goldAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in International journal for equity in health, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 9 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
9citing papers in PubMed, 1 pooled it
2.4field-weighted citation impact, top 11% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

9 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 16 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Pooled it
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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

7 authors at 4 institutions in 2 countries.

Vincent WereCenter for Global Health Research, Kenya Medical Research Institute, P O Box 1578-40100, Kisumu, Kenya. vwere@kemri-wellcome.org.
Louise FoleyMRC Epidemiology Unit, School of Clinical Medicine, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK.
Eleanor Turner-MossMRC Epidemiology Unit, School of Clinical Medicine, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK.
Ebele MogoMRC Epidemiology Unit, School of Clinical Medicine, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK.
Pamela WadendeKisii University, Kericho, Kenya.
Rosemary MusuvaCenter for Global Health Research, Kenya Medical Research Institute, P O Box 1578-40100, Kisumu, Kenya.
Charles ObonyoCenter for Global Health Research, Kenya Medical Research Institute, P O Box 1578-40100, Kisumu, Kenya.
Kenya Medical Research Institute · KEMRC Epidemiology Unit · GBKisii University · KEUniversity of Cambridge · GB

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

introductionLow household socioeconomic status is associated with unhealthy behaviours including poor diet and adverse health outcomes. Different methods leading to variations in SES classification has the potential to generate spurious research findings or misinform policy. In low and middle-income countries, there are additional complexities in defining household SES, a need for fieldwork to be conducted efficiently, and a dearth of information on how classification could impact estimation of disease risk.

methodsUsing cross-sectional data from 200 households in Kisumu County, Western Kenya, we compared three approaches of classifying households into low, middle, or high SES: fieldworkers (FWs), Community Health Volunteers (CHVs), and a Multiple Correspondence Analysis econometric model (MCA). We estimated the sensitivity, specificity, inter-rater reliability and misclassification of the three methods using MCA as a comparator. We applied an unadjusted generalized linear model to determine prevalence ratios to assess the association of household SES status with a self-reported diagnosis of diabetes or hypertension for one household member.

resultsCompared with MCA, FWs successfully classified 21.7% (95%CI = 14.4%-31.4%) of low SES households, 32.8% (95%CI = 23.2-44.3) of middle SES households, and no high SES households. CHVs successfully classified 22.5% (95%CI = 14.5%-33.1%) of low SES households, 32.8% (95%CI = 23.2%-44.3%) of middle SES households, and no high SES households. The level of agreement in SES classification was similar between FWs and CHVs but poor compared to MCA, particularly for high SES. None of the three methods differed in estimating the risk of hypertension or diabetes.

conclusionsFW and CHV assessments are community-driven methods for SES classification. Compared to MCA, these approaches appeared biased towards low or middle SES households and not sensitive to high household SES. The three methods did not differ in risk estimation for diabetes and hypertension. A mix of approaches and further evaluation to refine SES classification methodology is recommended.

Indexed as

Diabetes MellitusHypertensionCross-Sectional StudiesHumansKenyaPrevalenceReproducibility of ResultsSocial ClassSocioeconomic FactorsInequalities inequity socioeconomic status classification methods hypermarket

Identifiers

PMID35397583
PMCPMC8994881
OpenAlexW4226053870

What OpenQuestion holds

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LicenceCC BY
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Registered trials

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.