Area classification for health areas - corresponding health areas
To measure similarity between health areas the Squared Euclidean Distance (SED) has been used, which is based solely on the 42 variables used in the main classification. Thus corresponding health areas could be geographically far apart, e.g. Salford and Gateshead or Orkney and Powys. In this context, the range is defined as the range between the two most similar health areas and the two most dissimilar health areas.
Two health areas are considered to be:
Extremely similar if they have an SED of less than 1% of the range between the two most similar authorities and the two most dissimilar authorities.
Very similar if they have an SED of less than 2.5% of the range.
Similar if they have an SED of less than 5% of the range.
Somewhat similar if they have an SED of less than 10% of the range.
Not similar if they are more than 10% of the total range apart are considered.
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