The Socioeconomic Inequality in Traffic-Related Disability among Chinese Adults: The Application of Concentration Index

Wei Du, Peking University
Ning Li, Peking University
Gong Chen, Peking University

Traffic crashes is the fifth leading cause of burden of diseases and injuries in China. However,we know little about whether traffic crashes will aggravate the degree of health inequality among Chinese adults. Using a nationally representative data, we calculated the concentration index (CI) to measure the socioeconomic inequality in traffic-related disability (TRD), and decomposed CI into potential sources of the inequality. More than 1.5 million Chinese adults were disabled by traffic crashes and the adults with financial disadvantage bear disproportionately heavier burden of TRD. Strategies of reducing income inequality and protecting the safety of poor road users are of great importance.Moreover, the rurality of residence appears to reduce the socioeconomic inequality in TRD, but does not necessarily arrive in an optimistic conclusion. Factors including the huge income gap between rural and urban areas and the poor post-crash medical resources in rural area, may be the underlying reasons for the results.