Handbook on health inequality monitoring [electronic resource] : with a special focus on low- and middle-income countries / World Health Organization.

Includes bibliographical references.

Machine generated contents note: 1.Health inequality monitoring: an overview -- 1.1.What is monitoring? -- 1.2.What is involved in health monitoring? -- 1.3.What is health inequality monitoring? -- 1.4.Why conduct health inequality monitoring? -- 1.5.How can health inequality monitoring lead to implementing change? -- 1.6.How are the social determinants of health related to health inequality monitoring? -- 2.Data sources -- 2.1.Data source types -- 2.2.Population-based data sources -- 2.3.Institution-based data sources -- 2.4.Strengths and limitations of key data sources -- 2.5.Data source mapping -- 3.Measurement of health inequality -- 3.1.How can health inequalities be measured? -- 3.2.Simple measures of inequality (pairwise comparisons) -- 3.3.Limitations of simple measures of inequality -- 3.4.Complex measures of inequality -- 3.5.Complex measures of inequality in ordered groups -- 3.6.Complex measures of inequality in non-ordered groups -- 3.7.Population attributable risk -- 4.Reporting health inequalities -- 4.1.Audience-conscious reporting -- 4.2.Methods of presenting data -- 4.3.Key aspects of health inequality reporting -- 4.4.Selecting measures of health inequality to report -- 4.5.Special considerations -- 4.6.Reporting time trends -- 4.7.Defining priority areas -- 5.Step-by-step health inequality assessment: reproductive, maternal and child health in the Philippines -- 5.1.Selecting relevant health indicators and equity stratifiers -- 5.2.Data source mapping -- 5.3.Data analysis -- 5.4.Reporting inequality -- 5.5.Defining priority areas.

Monitoring health inequality is a practice that fosters accountability and continuous improvement within health systems. The cycle of health inequality monitoring helps to identify and track health differences between subgroups, providing evidence and feedback to strengthen equity-oriented policies, programs and practices. Through inequality monitoring and the use of disaggregated data, countries gain insight into how health is distributed in the population, looking beyond what is indicated by national averages. Data about health inequalities underlie health interventions that aim to reach vulnerable populations. Furthermore, they constitute an evidence base to inform and promote equity-oriented health initiatives, including the movement towards equitable universal health coverage.

This Handbook is a user-friendly resource developed to help countries establish and strengthen health inequality monitoring practices. The handbook elaborates on the steps of health inequality monitoring, including selecting relevant health indicators and equity stratifiers, obtaining data, analyzing data, reporting results and implementing changes. Throughout the handbook, examples from low- and middle-income countries are presented to illustrate how concepts are relevant and applied in real-world situations; informative text boxes provide the context to better understand the complexities of the subject. The final section of the handbook presents an expanded example of national-level health inequality monitoring of reproductive, maternal and child health.