Health Inequality Measurement: Concepts, Methods and Applications (3 days)

This course is taught by three leading researchers in measuring health inequalities and inequities in health care. This is a 3-day course run by Melbourne Health Economics within the Centre for Health Policy at the University of Melbourne. It aims to provide participants with a solid grounding in the theoretical and empirical dimensions of health inequality measurement. By the end of the course, participants will be able to:

-Understand and apply core concepts in health inequality measurement, including relative and absolute measures, and rank- and level-dependent approaches
-Measure and interpret health poverty using established methodological frameworks
-Design and conduct health inequality analyses in practice, including defining research questions, sourcing data, and addressing measurement challenges related to socio-economic status
-Distinguish between avoidable and unavoidable health inequalities and apply advanced measurement techniques to real-world evidence
-Critically evaluate and report health inequality studies in line with current empirical standards

Who is this course designed for?

This course is designed for those who are working in or alongside the health sector, including researchers, policy analysts, public health professionals, health economists, and postgraduate students,  who wish to deepen their understanding of health inequality measurement. It is particularly suited to those looking to build practical skills in applying theoretical frameworks to real-world data and research contexts.

Course Outline

The course will involve a series of two modules that build on each other to provide an overview of the steps required for understanding, measuring, and analysing inequality in health and health care.

Module 1: Understanding Health Inequality: Concepts, Measurement and Health Poverty
An introduction to the core concepts underpinning health inequality measurement, covering relative and absolute measures, rank- and level-dependent inequality indices, methods for measuring health poverty, and decomposition approaches to understanding the drivers of health inequalities.

Module 2: From Theory to Practice: Measuring Health Inequality in Real-World Settings
A practical exploration of health inequality analysis, including types of inequality comparisons across cross-sections and over time, defining research questions and identifying appropriate data sources, and addressing common challenges in estimating and reporting health inequality studies.

Module 3: Fairness, Equity and the Boundaries of Avoidable Health Inequality
An advanced module examining the distinction between avoidable and unavoidable health inequality, with a focus on theoretical considerations, measurement frameworks, fairness and socio-economic inequality in health, and the application of these concepts to real-world empirical examples.

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