Table.
Explanatory variables in final regression analyses
| Variable | Description | Mean (SD) | Range | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Supply of secondary care: | ||||
| General physicians/10 000 | Hospital medical staff in general medicine specialty group per 10 000 population. By regional health authority | 2.83 (0.36) | 2.23-3.64 | HSI |
| Hospital beds provision | Distance weighted No of hospital beds per head of population | 2.85 (0.75) | 1.29-4.64 | Carr-Hill et al18 |
| Morbidity measures: | ||||
| Limiting long term illness | Proportion of total population with limiting long term illness | 13.28 (2.23) | 8.87-18.48 | Census |
| Permanently sick | Proportion of adult population permanently sick | 4.13 (1.57) | 2.01-7.98 | Census |
| Socioeconomic characteristics of the population: | ||||
| Population density | Population per hectare | 17.80 (20.19) | 0.61-100.76 | ONS |
| Unemployment | Proportion of population claiming unemployment benefits | 10.09 (3.52) | 5.09-21.75 | ONS |
| No central heating | Proportion of households lacking central heating | 17.00 (8.16) | 4.87-46.43 | Census |
| Crowded accommodation | Proportion in households in crowded accommodation (>1 per room) | 4.88 (2.68) | 2.32-19.35 | Census |
| No car | Proportion in households with no car | 26.52 (9.81) | 10.96-51.30 | Census |
| New Commonwealth | Proportion of private households headed by person born in New Commonwealth or Pakistan | 4.05 (4.85) | 0.31-31.19 | HSI |
| Retired living alone | Proportion of those of pensionable age living alone | 34.11 (3.18) | 29.87-48.51 | Census |
| Students | Proportion of 17 year olds who are students | 40.99 (7.32) | 30.69-67.86 | Census |
| Social class I and II | Percentage of households with head in class I or II | 35.72 (7.98) | 18.28-58.76 | Census |
| Population mobility | Proportion of residents moving outside district in past year | 3.84 (1.81) | 1.76-12.74 | Census |
| Year dummies: | ||||
| 1990-1 | Dummy variable; equals 1 in financial year 1990-1; 0 otherwise | |||
| 1991-2 | Dummy variable; equals 1 in financial year 1991-2; 0 otherwise | |||
| 1992-3 | Dummy variable; equals 1 in financial year 1992-3; 0 otherwise | |||
| 1993-4 | Dummy variable; equals 1 in financial year 1993-4; 0 otherwise | |||
| 1994-5 | Dummy variable; equals 1 in financial year 1994-5; 0 otherwise | |||
Census: 1991 census of population.
HSI: health service indicators database.24
ONS: office for national statistics.