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The term deprivation is often used to refer to economic or social shortages in a given geographical area. This concept of deprivation has been identified for years using simple indicators such as income level, education and social class. One of the advantages of using simple indicators is the availability of data, since they come directly from sources of information like censuses and population registers. However, the main disadvantage of these indicators is their limited usefulness when measuring a concept as complex as deprivation with a single variable. One possible solution to this problem is using compound indices, made up of a combination of simple indicators. For years, the concept of material deprivation in Spain has been measured using indices or indicators imported from other countries. However, there are no studies that investigate if all of these variables are really related to material deprivation in Spain. In this context, the objective of this study is to create a synthetic index for material deprivation for the municipalities in Spain, bearing in mind the variables available from the Population and Housing Census. The index was built on a principal components factor analysis. The analysis showed two factors. The first factor showed a high positive correlation to the variables relating to illiteracy rate, unemployment rate and percentage of manual labourers, while the second factor was seen as highly positively correlated to the variables relating to the percentage of homes without access to a vehicle and the dependency index and also correlated, though negatively, to the percentage of foreigners between 16 and 49 who lived abroad in 1991. The variables that make up the first factor can be considered to be an approximation of the concept of deprivation in Spain. This study proposes a deprivation index made up of three simple indicators available from national information sources: percentage of illiteracy, percentage of unemployment and percentage of manual labourers. With this index, the criteria for measuring deprivation in Spanish municipalities can be unified and a comparison of the results of the different studies in our context facilitated.

An operational definition for "rural area" is pivotal if proposals, policies and decisions aimed at optimising the distribution of resources, closing the gap on inequity between areas and raising standards of living for the least advantaged populations are to be put in place. The concept of rurality, however, is often based on alternative and conflicting definitions, requiring clarification of the underlying theoretical model. Traditionally a geographical area has been classified as rural by taking into account either the number of inhabitants or population density. Two kinds of problem are raised with this approach, however, namely: it is inherently difficult to describe such a complex concept as rurality with a single variable: and reducing the concept down to a rural/urban dichotomy by setting a non-universal cut-off point does not usually provide an accurate account of reality. Within the context of the rural urban continuum, this paper has devised a rurality index for Spanish municipalities based on the 1991 Population, Housing and Household Survey. The index was built on a principal components factor analysis, giving rise to a single factor that is correlated to the aging of the population, economic dependency, farming, livestock or fishing-related employment, habitability of housing and population density. A score to each municipality was allocated. This index can be regularly updated thus enabling the progress of the concept of rurality to be monitored in our setting over time and then compared with other countries using the same methods.

To link to full-text access for this article, visit this link: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.socscimed.2006.03.016 Byline: Ricardo OcaA[+ or -]a-Riola, Carmen Sanchez-Cantalejo, Alberto Fernandez-Ajuria Keywords: Southern Spain; Rural health; Mortality; Small-area analysis; Socioeconomic factors; Bayesian analysis Abstract: The purpose of this paper is to study the linkage between type of habitat and mortality from all causes in small areas of Southern Spain. An ecological study was conducted on 99,870 people who died between 1985 and 1999. The municipality was taken as the unit of analysis. Data analysis was carried out through hierarchical spatio-temporal bayesian models. Results show a 13.3% reduction in mortality rates among men and 14.1% among women in the most rural areas compared to more urban environments. The study demonstrates the usefulness of socio-demographic indices in small-area geographical analyses. Author Affiliation: Grupo DEMAP, Escuela Andaluza de Salud Publica, Granada, Spain

The purpose of this paper is to study the linkage between type of habitat and mortality from all causes in small areas of Southern Spain. An ecological study was conducted on 99,870 people who died between 1985 and 1999. The municipality was taken as the unit of analysis. Data analysis was carried out through hierarchical spatio-temporal bayesian models. Results show a 13.3% reduction in mortality rates among men and 14.1% among women in the most rural areas compared to more urban environments. The study demonstrates the usefulness of socio-demographic indices in small-area geographical analyses. Keywords: Southern Spain; Rural health; Mortality; Small-area analysis; Socioeconomic factors; Bayesian analysis