BMJ 1994;309:287-288 (30 July)

Editorials

Public health and the 1991 census

National censuses provide authoritative data on populations and housing. These results inform public understanding and the governance of society, particularly in respect of strategic planning and the allocation of resources. Assessment of health needs, the purchase and provision of services, equality of access, and evaluation of health outcomes - concerns of providers and purchasers - are are also contingent on such information.

The 1991 census broke new ground in two respects, both with major dividends for public health research. It asked respondents whether they had a limiting long term illness or handicap and it asked them to identify their ethnic group.

This last census covered 97.8% of Britain's population - a lower proportion than in previous censuses.1,2 Comparisons with population estimates based on the 1981 census show that the latest census "missed" some 1.2 million people, half of them young adults but also sizeable numbers of young children and very . . . [Full text of this article]


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