Exploring the social and spatial inequalities of ill-health in Scotland: A spatial microsimulation approach

The main purpose of this thesis is to explore social and spatial inequalities of ill-health in Scotland using a spatial microsimulation modelling approach.
The complex questions of what socio-economic or geographical factors may influence the health of individuals are explored in this PhD, using a variety of statistical methods. Using data from the Scottish Health Survey and the UK Census of Population a Spatial Microsimulation model was designed and constructed to undertake this task. The Spatial Microsimulation Model developed allowed the exploration of simulated health and socio-economic data at small area (micro) level as well as modelling of `what-if' policy scenarios. The study is focused on Scotland.
The Research begins with a general introduction to what the areas of study will be, with a series of substantive research questions being forwarded for examination. The literature relevant to the field of study is then carefully critiqued and examined to ensure the originality of this research and the gaps which exist in the field of health inequalities research. An examination of the data and methods used as well as the more technical details of Microsimulation modelling are also discussed at chapter length which forms the basis for proceeding with the research questions.
The complex task of building a Spatial Microsimulation Model, the challenges involved and the inner workings of the model are discussed along with methods to assess the accuracy of the model.
The subsequent chapters then focus on the results of the analysis performed. These chapters deal with the research questions posed at the beginning as well as the `what-if' policy scenarios.
The study then concludes with directions for future research as well as some key points that have been drawn out over the course of the three year PhD project.