Search

An analysis is undertaken of deaths of respondents in the UK- representative Health and Lifestyle Survey. The sample was originally interviewed in 1984/5 and followed initially until May 1997. Using multilevel logistic and Cox-proportional hazards models, the relationships between death and a wide range of social circumstances and behaviours is explored. It is found that place deprivation interacts with individual social class in accounting for variations in mortality. This is the case even when account is taken of personal health-related behaviour. There appears to be some evidence of a threshold relationship such that the differential effects of social class are only found at high-levels of deprivation. No statistically significant interactions are found for social and behavioural variables, for behavioural and place deprivation variables, and for social and place deprivation variables with the exception of social class. The study is deliberately exploratory and a wide range of models have been fitted which will be subject to more rigorous evaluation as the HALS death study proceeds.

Issues and problems relating to the funding and provision of health services to islands are examined with particular reference to the island communities of Britain. The results of a telephone survey of key representatives of relevant health authorities in the British Isles indicate the general problems faced by health care providers in island localities. The Isle of Wight is used as a case study and exemplar of the specific difficulties faced in island settings. The paper concludes by examining the relevance of current resource allocation policy to island contexts.

This paper describes the online learning and teaching resources that are currently being developed for the contemporary and historical UK censuses as part of a project that is being funded by the Joint Information Systems Committee (JISC) to support its 'Information Environment'. The online resources are intended to support learners and teachers in the UK Higher and Further Education sectors who are interested in UK census data. A variety of resources is available including: interactive online tutorials with practical exercises, textual materials, web pages and PowerPoint slides. The materials have been designed to be as flexible as possible encouraging a 'pick and mix' approach to the use of the resources. The resources are also intended to facilitate the use of 2001 census data. Feedback from student piloting and consultation workshops is also considered. All the resources can be accessed at: http://www.chcc.ac.uk. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]