Towards Defining Socioeconomic and Demographic Inequalities That May Affect Health in Kuwait

Social class measurement Socioeconomic status Social inequalities in health Socioeconomic score Socioeconomic status and health Abstract The experience of several developed Western countries shows that mortality and health differences between socioeconomic groups continue to persist, and may even be increasing. How- ever, there is no agreed upon, or 'standard' way of measuring socioeconomic status (SES). In Kuwait questions pertaining to social inequalities in health, and accurate measurement of SES remain to be answered. This paper presents several ideas about the variables that should be examined to define SES. Characteristics of women residing in the most developed and least developed areas are compared to assess the range of inequality in the country. Except for literacy levels, large dif- ferences exist for most variables. Previous research and data do not provide a clear idea of any systematic difference in health by social class. This may be partially a result of weak- nesses in measurement. The need for reliable data on outcome measures of health as well as indicators of social class is emphasized.