Annual health perception variation value: A different approach to inequalities in health

PURPOSE: The aim of this study is to develop a new tool in the assessment of inequalities in health on the level of population. METHODS: The total sample size is 1812 (38.7% male) with a mean age of 32.9±27.2 (min:10, max:98). The “Annual Health Perception Variation Value (AHVV)” was developed by means of an index question: “Compared to last year, how do you rate your health this year?” answered with a 5 points Likert scale. The ordinal response options are: 1-Much better, 2-Better, 3-No change, 4-Worse 5-Much worse (terrible). Among the variables listed above, “Age” and “Perceived Income “variables were used as test variables for AHVV.The AHVV was calculated for each of the sub-categories of these two test variables by a simple methodology.The percentages of the options “Much better” and “Better” are summed and then subtracted from the sum of the percentages “Worse” and “Much worse”. The middle descriptor (There is no change) is accepted as a neutral option. RESULTS When we calculate the AHVV for each of the age groups we saw a linear decrease in the slope of the graph line as person gets older. The same decreasing trend was obtained in the sub-categories of the Perceived Income variable as well. Similarly, a linear decrease in the slope of this line was observed as person gets poorer. Same comparisons were made by using Current Perceived Health variable which showed a decrease in the slope of the line than AHVV for the “age” variable. The correlation coefficient for AHVV with age (r=0.46) is bigger than that of with Current Perceived Health question (r=0.31). CONCLUSION AHVV can be regarded as a new and valuable approach for evaluating time trends in the health inequalities especially in the area of health service research in the population level.