A three-stage approach to measuring health inequalities and inequities

Table 1 Variables classified under the Fleurbaey-Schokkaert framework and two definitions of health inequity used in this study

Fleurbaey-Schokkaert category	Variable	Definition of health inequity
Fleurbaey-Schokkaert category	Variable	Equal opportunity for health	Policy amenability
Health endowments	Age	Legitimate	Legitimate
Individual preferences	Smoking, BMI, physical activity	Legitimate	Illegitimate
Available information	Education	Illegitimate	Illegitimate
Social background	Income, income x smoking, race, country of birth, marital status, sex	Illegitimate	Illegitimate
Social background	Basic health care - having regular medical doctor, unmet need	Illegitimate	Illegitimate
Health care supply	Quality of health care - high blood pressure management, asthma medication management, pharmaceutical insurance	Illegitimate	Illegitimate

BMI: body mass index.
Categories are from the framework for measuring unfair health inequalities proposed by Fleurbaey and Schokkaert [28].
Variables are those we include in our analysis using the Joint Canada/United States Survey of Health (JCUSH).
"Equal opportunity for health" and "policy amenability" are the two definitions of health inequity we use in our analysis.

ISSN: 1475-9276