An updated version of this tool has now been released as part of the Health Inequalities Intervention Toolkit
To access the Toolkit to find the latest Life Expectancy Tool for Spearhead areas (2010)
please click here
The latest tool is based on data for 2006-08 and also includes an improved and updated Commissioning Interventions element to allow users to assess the impact
that evidence-based interventions can have on reducing inequalities in life expectancy between Spearhead areas and England. (Includes new intervention on blood
sugar control.)
The toolkit also includes a new Infant Mortality Tool – click here to access
Health Inequalities Intervention Tool for Spearheads, updated 2009
This tool supports planning and commissioning to achieve the national target to reduce inequalities in life expectancy. This Public Service Agreement target aims to reduce by at
least 10 per cent, the gap in life expectancy at birth between the fifth of areas with the worst health and deprivation indicators (the Spearhead Group) and the
population of England as a whole.
The tool provides:
- The life expectancy gap between each Spearhead local authority and England as a whole, broken down by cause of death and age group
- The same breakdown between the Spearhead Group as a whole, and England
The Spearhead Tool was updated in 2009 to contain new information on gaps in life expectancy between Spearhead local authorities and England as a whole
using mortality data from 2005-07.
The original life expectancy and mortality information, based on 2003-05 data, is still available to allow comparisons over time.
This version of the tool, released in 2007, also allows Spearhead areas to estimate the effect on their life expectancy if certain interventions are increased, specifically:
- Interventions to reduce infant mortality
- Smoking cessation
- Antihypertensive prescribing in people without diagnosed cardiovascular disease
- Statin prescribing in people without diagnosed cardiovascular disease
This analysis is currently based on 2003-05 data and has not yet been updated in the 2009 version of the tool.
The tool can be accessed via the Excel workbooks below.
Instructions for using the tool, and interpreting its results can be found within the tool.
Some frequently asked questions and technical documents can be found via the links below.
The Health Inequalities Intervention Tool for Spearheads was developed by the Association of Public Health Observatories, working in partnership with the Department of Health.