Regional Health Inequalities

The Northern Ireland Health & Social Care Inequalities Monitoring System (NIHSCIMS) collects data on a wide range of health measures for the purposes of comparing inequalities in health at a number of levels:

• Deprivation (see the Northern Ieland Multiple Deprivation Measures)
• Urban-rural classifications

These measures are collated at the regional level i.e. for Northern Ireland as a whole, as well at the sub-regional level.

The following indicators are monitored:

• Life and healthy life expectancy
• Premature and preventable mortality measures
• Hospital admission rates (emergency, elective and day)
• Circulatory diseases admission, death, and prescription rates
• Respiratory diseases admission and death rates
• Cancer incidence and death rates
• Alcohol, smoking and drugs admission and death rates
• Mental health (self harm) admission, suicide and prescription rates
• Public safety (fire and ambulance response times)
• Pregnancy and early years (infant mortality, teenage pregnancy, low birth weights, etc)
• Childhood obesity and dental registration

An analysis of mortality patterns of Section 75 groupings also forms a part of the inequalities monitoring.