Evidence suggests that individual socioeconomic status is a better predictor of preterm birth (PTB) than other individual social characteristics, but it is not clear if socioeconomic (material) area context is likewise more strongly related to PTB than social area characteristics. We compared...

Overweight and obesity are major public health concerns that are neither evenly distributed among the population nor between regions. Many studies suggest that beyond individual characteristics, the place where one lives influences lifestyle choices that underpin overweight and obesity. We...

Most recent research reveals that social inequalities in premature mortality are widening. Such findings mainly apply to countries as a whole. In this study, we model recent changes in the association between premature mortality and a deprivation index (a small area-based index) in four...

This paper addresses two questions: (1) Can people's perceptions of problems and social cohesion in the neighbourhood be considered as contextual variables; and (2) are these perceptions related to people's health? Data come from a general health survey carried out in 2004 among 1634 individuals...

Self perceived health is a widely used measure and, in Québec, it has been shown to vary significantly between geographical areas. In the present study, these geographical variations are examined in a multilevel analysis in order to disentangle compositional (individual characteristics) and...

In Québec, recent political statements have strengthened the necessity to allocate resources according to regional population needs. A regional-provincial working group was set up to propose needs indicators in 8 different fields--or client-oriented programs--which subdivide the entire spectrum...

Avoidable mortality has been proposed as an outcome measure of health services and our aim, in this study, is to trace its general features and regional variations in Québec. For that purpose, comparisons are established between two time periods (1969-1973 and 1982-1990) and with several...

Little information exists on health discrepancies within rural areas. Our research proposes to analyse the Québec Health Survey--a population health survey carried out in Québec in 1987--using a geographic grid which defines three different rural areas; that area bordering urban centers, a...