ReviewPopulation health metrics2022
When the technical is also normative: a critical assessment of measuring health inequalities using the concentration index-based indices.
Review in Population health metrics, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 14 papers.
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Who cites it
14 citing papers in PubMed.
- Income-related inequalities in ACSC hospitalization in Canada: evidence from 2005-2019 surveys linked with hospitalization and tax data.The European journal of health economics : HEPAC : health economics in prevention and care · 2026Article
- Global, regional, and national burden of Early-onset Parkinson's disease: A comprehensive analysis and forecast, 1990-2021.Neurological sciences : official journal of the Italian Neurological Society and of the Italian Society of Clinical Neurophysiology · 2026Article
- The Municipal Sustainable Development Health Index (MSDHI) to monitor the 2030 agenda in Brazil: a methodological proposal.International journal for equity in health · 2026Article
- Utilization of public health services and health outcomes among China's migrant population: an equity analysis.Frontiers in health services · 2026Article
- Article
- Inequity in the use of long-lasting insecticidal nets before and after nationwide mass distribution campaign in 48 districts of Uganda: VERSE toolkit analysis.BMC public health · 2025Article
- From caregiving burden to income transformation: intergenerational employment effects of long-term care insurance.Frontiers in public health · 2025Article
- Impact of COVID-19 on household hunger and socio-economic inequality in South Africa: a comparative analysis using NIDS-CRAM (2020-2021) and NFNSS 2022 data.Frontiers in public health · 2025Article
- Decomposing socioeconomic inequality in skilled birth attendant utilization in Ethiopia: A secondary data analysis.PloS one · 2025Article
- Article
- Inequalities in Complementary Feeding Programs in Randomized Intervention and Nonintervention Areas after Program Implementation in Bangladesh, Ethiopia, and Vietnam.Current developments in nutrition · 2024Article
- Changes in disease burden and global inequalities in bladder, kidney and prostate cancers from 1990 to 2019: a comparative analysis based on the global burden of disease study 2019.BMC public health · 2024Article
- Measuring socioeconomic inequalities in postnatal health checks for newborns in Ethiopia: a decomposition analysis.Frontiers in public health · 2024Article
- Socio-economic accounting of inequalities in excess weight: a population-based analysis.BMC public health · 2023Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
3 authors.
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No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundConcentration index-based measures are one of the most popular tools for estimating socioeconomic-status-related health inequalities. In recent years, several variants of the concentration index have been developed that are designed to correct for deficiencies of the standard concentration index and which are increasingly being used. These variants, which include the Wagstaff index and the Erreygers index, have important technical and normative differences. MAIN BODY: In this study, we provide a non-technical review and critical assessment of these indices. We (i) discuss the difficulties that arise when measurement tools intended for income are applied in a health context, (ii) describe and illustrate the interrelationship between the technical and normative properties of these indices, (iii) discuss challenges that arise when determining whether index estimates are large or of policy significance, and (iv) evaluate the alignment of research practice with the properties of the indices used. Issues discussed in parts (i) and (ii) include the different conceptions of inequality that underpin the indices, the types of changes to a distribution which leave inequality unchanged and the importance of the measurement scale and range of the outcome variable. These concepts are illustrated using hypothetical examples. For parts (iii) and (iv), we reviewed 44 empirical studies published between 2015 and 2017 and find that researchers often fail to provide meaningful interpretations of the index estimates.
conclusionWe propose a series of questions to facilitate further sensitivity analyses and provide a better understanding of the index estimates. We also provide a guide for researchers and policy analysts to facilitate the critical assessment of studies using these indices, while helping applied researchers to choose inequality measures that have the normative properties they seek.
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