Misclassification of Social Disadvantage Based on Geographical Areas: Comparison of Postcode and Collector's District Analyses

Abstract

Misclassification of individuals to SES groups on the basis of postcode has caused an underestimation of the true relationship between SES and health-related measures. A reduction of this misclassification by using smaller spatial areas, such as CD or census enumeration districts, will provide improved validity in estimating the true relationship.