Social determinants Index of relative disadvantage by local government area
Note:
Australian scores are the reference point and are set to 1,000 for each index. Scores for local government areas are population-weighted means of the scores of their constituent census collector districts.
Source:
ABS Socio Economic Indices for Areas (HOIST). Centre for Epidemiology and Research, NSW Department of Health.
Socioeconomic Indexes for Areas (SEIFA) have been constructed by the Australian Bureau of Statistics from the 2001 Census of Population and Housing data. These indexes allow comparison of the social and economic conditions across Australia. SEIFA scores are derived from multiple-weighted variables, with the reference score for the whole of Australia set to 1,000. Lower scores indicate lower socioeconomic status. There are, however, three factors which the indexes do not represent well - they are accumulated wealth, an area's infrastructure and different costs in living across areas.
One index for SEIFA is the Index of Relative Socioeconomic Disadvantage (IRSD), which includes variables such as high income, low income, professional occupation, as well as people employed in unskilled occupations. Inclusion of both indicators of advantage and disadvantage allows the index to be used as a measure of advantage and disadvantage in a continuum (Adhikari, 2006).
The map shows the IRSD scores for each local government area (LGA) in NSW. The scores for IRSD ranged from 845.11 in the Brewarrina LGA to 1,151.47 in the Ku-ring-gai LGA.
Over 90% of the LGAs in the Northern Sydney and Central Coast Area Health Service scored above 1,000 for IRSD. The most disadvantaged health area was the North Coast with all LGAs in the area scoring less than 1,000 for IRSD. Over 90% of LGAs in the Hunter and New England Area Health Service and the Greater Western Area Health Service scored less than 1,000 for IRSD.
Socioeconomic disadvantage is associated with a higher prevalence of health risk factors and higher rates of hospitalisations, deaths and other adverse health outcomes (see Socioeconomic status chapter). Maps of socioeconomic disadvantage by LGA viewed in conjunction with maps of health outcomes can assist in identifying factors which may be associated with poorer outcomes.
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Copyright notice:
This work is copyright NSW Department of Health, 2006. It may be reproduced
in whole or in part, subject to the inclusion of an acknowledgement of the source. Commercial usage or sale is prohibited.
Population Health Division. The health of the people of New South Wales -
Report of the Chief Health Officer. Sydney: NSW Department of Health. Available at:
http://www.health.nsw.gov.au/public-health/chorep/soc/soc_irsd_lgamap.htm. Accessed (insert date of access).
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