A small area deprivation index for monitoring and evaluating health inequalities in a diverse, low and middle income country: the Índice Brasileiro de Privação (IBP)

Introduction: Monitoring and addressing health inequalities is important. However, socioeconomic variables are usually unavailable within health datasets. Area deprivation measures provide access to open-source reliable socioeconomic data within low/middle-income countries and can contribute to the monitoring of the Sustainable Development Goals and assessing the growing burden of health inequalities. Objective: To create a small-area deprivation measure for the whole of Brazil - the Brazilian Deprivation Index (Índice Brasileiro de Privação - IBP), Methods: Using Census Sector data (mean population size=615) from the most recently available Brazilian Demographic Census (2010), variables measuring literacy, household income and housing conditions were standardised using z-scores and summed into a single measure. The IBP was validated using regional small-area measures of vulnerability: Belo Horizonte’s Health Vulnerability Index (IVS) and São Paulo’s Social Vulnerability Index (IPVS). Mortality data from Minas Gerais were used to estimate age-standardised mortality rates (ASMR) by ill-defined causes across IBP deprivation quintiles. Results: The IBP was created for 303,218 (97.8%) census sectors (99.7% population). Substantial regional variation in deprivation was found using the IBP measure, with higher deprivation in rural than urban areas. The IBP was correlated with the other indicators used for validation: the IVS (r = 0.96) and the IPVS (r = 0.68). We found gradients across the ill-defined causes ASMR, in Minas Gerais mortality was 2.6 higher in the most deprived quintile of IBP, compared with the least deprived. Main challenges in creating a deprivation measure for LMICs and possible solutions are demonstrated. Conclusion: A small area deprivation index was created for Brazil, a large and highly diverse middle-income country. The IBP improves our understanding and monitoring of inequalities, serving as a valuable tool for informing targeted public policies. Although the index is based on Brazil’s specific context, the challenges faced, and the strategies implemented to tackle them are relevant for other low- and middle-income countries aiming to develop similar tools.