NZDep91: A New Index of Deprivation

Peter Crampton, Clare Salmond, Frances Sutton

The NZDep91 index has been developed in response to the demand for new measures of deprivation or socio-economic status at a small area level, with the aim of developing a new census-based small area measure of deprivation for New Zealand.

Indices of deprivation can be applied in needs-based population-based funding formulas, for research in a variety of settings (eg, health and social services), and for advocacy at a community level. The new small-area-based index of deprivation provides a mores sensitive measure of special health needs for the purpose of needs-based allocation at both a regional authority level and a service-provider level.

This paper outlines some theoretical issues relating to socio-economic status and deprivation and defines key concepts (deprivation, socio-economic status, poverty). It briefly outlines the methods used to create the index, involving Statistics New Zealand’s meshblocks and primary sampling units, and then describes the final form of the index and the results of the validation exercises.

The paper concludes with a discussion of some of the advantages and disadvantages of composite indices, and lists some of the current and potential uses for the NZDep91.