Do ethnic and socio-economic inequalities in mortality vary by region in New Zealand? An application of hierarchical Bayesian modelling.

Abstract

We hypothesised that ethnic and socio-economic inequality in mortality might vary by region in New Zealand. Linked 2001-2004 census-mortality data were stratified by region (District Health Boards or DHBs), sex, age and ethnic groups, and income quintiles. To accommodate data sparseness, and to achieve accurate estimates of DHB-specific mortality rates and rate ratios by ethnicity and income, we used hierarchical Bayesian methods. To aid presentation of results, we used posterior mortality rates from the models to calculate directly standardised rates and rate ratios, with credible intervals. Māori-European/Other mortality rate ratios were often similar across DHBs, but Waitemata and Canterb..