Physical Activity Attributable Hospitalisations (PAAH)

Summary

Physical Activity Attributable Hospitalisations are a measure of hospitalisations that are attributable to physical activity in each Middle Layer Super Output Area (MSOA) for each year.

Technical description

Physical attributable hospitalisations for each MSOA are calculated from the numbers of hospitalisations for diseases for which physical activity is a risk factor. These are multiplied by their respective population attributable fractions for each disease for each local authority and then summed.

Due to small numbers for each year the physical attributable hospitalisations for each year are added to those of the two neighbouring years creating a kind of moving average. This means that, for example, the estimates for 2012 will actually be the estimates from 2011 to 2013. These are then indirectly age standardised using 2012 England population as reference population to create standardised hospitalisation ratios. Because of small numbers these are then shrunk to the local authority level average with those areas whose estimates are uncertain (based on small numbers) shrunk more.