Europe UK (Commonwealth Union) – Researchers at the University College London (UCL), saw associations of a locations health and employment figures being stronger when they explored the self-rated health measures, and contrasted it with life expectancy or mortality indicators.
The study attempted to investigate which health indicator is most closely associated to labor market outcomes, like not being in paid work, working hours and economic inactivity such as being unemployed, retired, ill or disabled.
Researchers attempted to investigate if they were restricted to those above 50 years old.
A representative sample was applied by researchers of English and Welsh census data of 430,377 adults between 16-74 years old from 2011 to analyze what actions of health-in-a-place were further linked with employment outcomes.
Conducting this had, the researchers evaluate 7 criteria from local authority census and vital records data, consisting of self-rated health (at 50-74 years), long-term illness (at 50-74 years), age-specific mortality rate (at 50-74 years), avoidable mortality, life expectancy (at birth and 65 years), disability-free life expectancy (at 50 years), as well as healthy life expectancy (at 50 years).
Life expectancy at birth and infant mortality rate was also taken into account to find out if the links were restricted to the health of those above 50 years old.
Results demonstrated that there were associations between health in the area and employment with the complete 9 health indicators. But the toughest link was revealed in the self-rated health measures of general health together with long-term illness.
Lead author, Dr Emily Murray of the UCL Institute of Epidemiology & Health, says “We recommend that the UK government change the measure used in their Levelling Up health goal from ‘Healthy Life-Expectancy’ to a self-reported health measure.”
“If ‘Healthy Life Expectancy’ continues to be used, it should be with the understanding that it will display a slightly weaker association with employment outcomes.”
