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A multilevel analysis of the effects of neighbourhood income inequality on individual self-rated health in Hong Kong

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  • Wong, Irene O.L.
  • Cowling, Benjamin J.
  • Lo, Su-Vui
  • Leung, Gabriel M.

Abstract

We examined the effect on self-rated health of neighbourhood-level income inequality in Hong Kong, which has a high and growing Gini coefficient. Data were derived from two population household surveys in 2002 and 2005 of 25,623 and 24,610 non-institutional residents aged 15 or over. We estimated neighbourhood-level Gini coefficients in each of 287 Government Planning Department Tertiary Planning Units. We used multilevel regression analysis to assess the association of neighbourhood income inequality with individual self-perceived health status. After adjustment for both individual- and household-level predictors, there was no association between neighbourhood income inequality, median household income or household-level income and self-rated health. We tested for but did not find any statistical interaction between these three income-related exposures. These findings suggest that neighbourhood income inequality is not an important predictor of individual health status in Hong Kong.

Suggested Citation

  • Wong, Irene O.L. & Cowling, Benjamin J. & Lo, Su-Vui & Leung, Gabriel M., 2009. "A multilevel analysis of the effects of neighbourhood income inequality on individual self-rated health in Hong Kong," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 68(1), pages 124-132, January.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:socmed:v:68:y:2009:i:1:p:124-132
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    2. Hsu, Chia-Yueh & Chang, Shu-Sen & Lee, Esther S.T. & Yip, Paul S.F., 2015. "“Geography of suicide in Hong Kong: Spatial patterning, and socioeconomic correlates and inequalities”," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 130(C), pages 190-203.
    3. Kwok, Man Ki & Subramanian, S.V. & Leung, Gabriel M. & Schooling, C. Mary, 2015. "Household income and adolescent blood pressure in a Chinese birth cohort: “Children of 1997”," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 144(C), pages 88-95.
    4. Che-cheong Poon & Tai-Yuen Hon, 2015. "Household Savings in Hong Kong: A Statistical Analysis," Journal of Family and Economic Issues, Springer, vol. 36(3), pages 353-368, September.
    5. Bjornstrom, Eileen E.S., 2011. "The neighborhood context of relative position, trust, and self-rated health," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 73(1), pages 42-49, July.
    6. Chenhong Peng & Lue Fang & Julia Shu-Huah Wang & Yik Wa Law & Yi Zhang & Paul S. F. Yip, 2019. "Determinants of Poverty and Their Variation Across the Poverty Spectrum: Evidence from Hong Kong, a High-Income Society with a High Poverty Level," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 144(1), pages 219-250, July.
    7. J. Cramm & V. Møller & A. Nieboer, 2012. "Individual- and Neighbourhood-Level Indicators of Subjective Well-Being in a Small and Poor Eastern Cape Township: The Effect of Health, Social Capital, Marital Status, and Income," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 105(3), pages 581-593, February.
    8. Eric TC Lai & Ruby Yu & Jean Woo, 2020. "The Associations of Income, Education and Income Inequality and Subjective Well-Being among Elderly in Hong Kong—A Multilevel Analysis," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(4), pages 1-14, February.
    9. Vânia Rocha & Ana Isabel Ribeiro & Milton Severo & Henrique Barros & Sílvia Fraga, 2017. "Neighbourhood socioeconomic deprivation and health-related quality of life: A multilevel analysis," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 12(12), pages 1-16, December.

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