Why It Matters
General Health and Healthcare Support
Summary
We measure how healthy the population of a given postcode feel, the extent to which disability limits the day-to-day activities of that population, and the number of hours people dedicated to unpaid care in that population.
Interpretation
General Health
| Dataset | Explanation |
|---|---|
| Estimated Percentage of Persons in Very Good Health | This tells you the percentage of all the people in your neighbourhood that self-identify as having a very good level of general health. |
| Estimated Percentage of Persons in Good Health | This tells you the percentage of all the people in your neighbourhood that self-identify as having a good level of general health. |
| Estimated Percentage of Persons with Fair Health | This tells you the percentage of all the people in your neighbourhood that self-identify as having a middling level of general health. |
| Estimated Percentage of Persons with Bad Health | This tells you the percentage of all the people in your neighbourhood that self-identify as having a poor level of general health. |
| Estimated Percentage of Persons with Very Bad Health | This tells you the percentage of all the people in your neighbourhood that self-identify as having a very poor level of general health. |
| Estimated Percentage of Persons Whose Day-to-Day Activities are Limited a Little by Disability | This tells you the percentage of all the people in your neighbourhood who have a disability that limits their day-to-day activities a little. |
| Estimated Percentage of Persons Whose Day-to-Day Activities are Limited a Lot by Disability | This tells you the percentage of all the people in your neighbourhood who have a disability that limits their day-to-day activities a lot. |
| Estimated Percentage of Persons Whose Day-to-Day Activities are Not Limited by Disability | This tells you the percentage of all the people in your neighbourhood who do not have a disability that limits their day-to-day activity in any way. |
| Estimated Percentage of Persons that Provide 1 to 19 Hours Unpaid Care a Week | This tells you the percentage of all the people in your neighbourhood who provide between 1 and 19 hours of unpaid care a week. They could provide this care to someone within or outside their household, and/or outside their postcode. |
| Estimated Percentage of Persons that Provide 20 to 49 Hours Unpaid Care a Week | This tells you the percentage of all the people in your neighbourhood who provide between 20 and 49 hours of unpaid care a week. They could provide this care to someone within or outside their household, and/or outside their postcode. |
| Estimated Percentage of Persons that Provide 50 or More Hours Unpaid Care a Week | This tells you the percentage of all the people in your neighbourhood who provide 50 hours or more of unpaid care a week. They could provide this care to someone within or outside their household, and/or outside their postcode. |
| Estimated Percentage of Persons that Provide No Unpaid Care | This tells you the percentage of all the people in your neighbourhood who provide no unpaid care. |
Provision of Unpaid Care
| Dataset | Explanation |
|---|---|
| Estimated Percentage of persons that provide 1 to 19 hours unpaid care a week | This tells you the percentage of all the people in your neighbourhood that provide, to someone within or external to their household, for a period of 1 - 19 hours per week, unpaid care, unpaid help or unpaid support to family members, friends, neighbours or others who suffer from a long-term physical/mental ill health or disability, or problems related to old age. |
| Estimated Percentage of persons that Provide 20 to 49 hours unpaid care a week | This tells you the percentage of all the people in your neighbourhood that provide, to someone within or external to their household, for a period of 20 - 49 hours per week, unpaid care, unpaid help or unpaid support to family members, friends, neighbours or others who suffer from a long-term physical/mental ill health or disability, or problems related to old age. |
| Estimated Percentage of persons that provide 50 or more hours unpaid care a week | This tells you the percentage of all the people in your neighbourhood that provide, to someone within or external to their household, for at least 50 hours per week, unpaid care, unpaid help or unpaid support to family members, friends, neighbours or others who suffer from a long-term physical/mental ill health or disability, or problems related to old age. |
| Estimated Percentage of persons that provide no unpaid care | This tells you the percentage of all the people in your neighbourhood that have no requirement to provide unpaid care. |
Why the metric matters from a commercial inhabitant’s perspective
Health and unpaid care levels are of relevance for commercial inhabitants as these conditions are strongly correlated with lower levels of consumptive spending and less predictable spending habits attributable to lower levels of health certainty (i.e. constant assumed good health). Local businesses would be advised to consider and perhaps even tailor their offerings to account for health uncertainty. Health uncertainty can manifest either in households reducing expenditures in anticipation of needing to or actually spending a larger proportion of their income on maintaining their health.
Alternatively, health uncertainty, can in some circumstances, lead to increased spending as the uncertain future that faces those without health certainty drives some of them to spend their incomes on with low levels of discretion.
Why the metric matters from a residential inhabitant’s perspective
As a general rule one can expect to see levels of general health and healthcare support improve as one is in areas or neighbourhoods higher up the socio-economic ladder, appreciating the general levels of health and level of healthcare support residents require within an area, is of interest to residential inhabitants for reasons twofold. Areas under clinical commissioning groups with unanticipated healthcare budget pressures may see certain services scaled back which will obviously have a knock effect for residents.
Secondly, as local authorities play a frontline role in the delivery of healthcare support, without the valuable assistance provided those who voluntarily provide unpaid care support, local authorities struggling to meet required targets (even with the adult social care precept) will likely have to reallocate resources intended for spending elsewhere in the community they serve.
General commentary
Londoners’ health is outstanding when compared to other regions of the UK, with 84% of Londoners reporting very good or good health and only 14% with a limiting long-term health problem or disability. The distribution of health within the capital often follows income lines with areas of The City and Richmond Upon Thames accounting for the highest percentage of residents with very good or good health and parts of Islington and Barking with the highest percentages of bad and very bad health.
Interestingly health is also linked to employment eminence as for instances, Londoners in managerial and professional occupations report consistently better health than those who have never worked or are long-term unemployed. Age is the other major contributory factor to health levels with more than 50%people over 65 reporting long term health problems. Given, Londoners’ average age of 37, we think this goes some way in explaining the relative high levels of general health experienced by residents in London.
When it comes to unpaid care, the UK Government defines it as a private arrangement that allows someone caring for a family member, friend or neighbour without any payoff. At its last estimate, the National Audit Office found that the value of unpaid care provided exceeded the value of formal care provided by the local government and the NHS. Some even estimate the value of unpaid care to be closer to the overall spending on health care.
(Photograph: Graham Horn, Wikimedia Commons)
Trivia
Did you know that the history of health and mapping are particularly intertwined when it comes to London? John Snow, a doctor and not the character from Game of Thrones, became one of the predecessors of medical geography by mapping a cholera outbreak in the mid-19th century. He used a dot map to illustrate cholera cases creating what could be considered one of the earliest forms of Geographical Information Surveys
History
General Health and Healthcare Support London’s history has been tied to health or more specifically its absence. Plagues and epidemics used to sweep the city leaving a plethora of death bodies after them. Between 1348 and 1665 a major outbreak hit the city every 20 to 30 years. In 1348, The first plague, the Black Death, killed about half of all Londoners. The mortality was so high that mass graves had to be dig up. Archaeologists have recently discovered some near the Tower where up to five bodies were piled on top of each other.
Some of the early health measures of this time included killing all the stray dogs and cats that were believed to facilitate the spread of disease. 40,000 dogs and cats perished in what was ultimately unsuccessful prophylactic measure. During the 18th century contaminated drinking water and alcohol consumption became the most pressing issues. From the 1720s onwards, the Gin Craze became a full-on health crisis with consumption reaching an average of over six gallons per person per year.
Up until the 19th century all forms of care depended upon charitable institutions, most often linked to the church or endowed by wealthy members of society or royalty. Saint Bartholomew’s hospital founded by the church during Henry VIII reign is an example of these earlier forms of charitable care. The 1867 Metropolitan Poor Act was a relevant step towards the professionalisation of care and resulted in the creation of the Metropolitan Asylums Board an administrative body charged with the oversight of London’s hospitals. Nevertheless, unpaid care has always continued to play a relevant role in the city’s public health.
Come the 20th century, Londoners and the rest of the nation saw the establishment of the NHS in 1948. This was accompanied by a rise in public health standards and the professionalisation of medical professions.