*** ARCHIVED ***
This ScotPHO web section has been archived and is no longer being updated or checked for accuracy, out of date information, broken links, etc. Its content should not be considered current or complete. This web section was archived on 18th May 2023. It was previously published under the Comparative Health main menu heading.
Informing Interventions to reduce health Inequalities (Triple I) - ARCHIVED
The Informing Interventions to reduce health Inequalities (Triple I) project aims to provide national and local decision makers with practical tools and interpreted research findings that will inform decisions about investing in interventions to reduce health inequalities in Scotland. It does this by modelling the potential impact of different interventions on overall population health and health inequalities. Triple I uses the best available data to estimate and compare the potential impact of different policies and interventions across the determinants of health. Triple I estimates the impact on population health and health inequalities in terms of three outcomes:
- Premature deaths.
- Years of life lost.
- Hospital stays.
***The most recent outputs from the Triple I project, including reports and interactive tools, were published in 2019 and are now available on the Public Health Scotland website.*** For further information on the Triple I project please email the Triple I team on phs.triple.i@phs.scot.
Initial phase of Triple I (Dec 2014)
The initial phase of the Triple I project reported in December 2014 and assessed the impact of 11 interventions. The tools from the initial phase of Triple I are available below and include Excel spreadsheets, a user guide, a technical guide and a briefing on delayed mortality effects. A separate commentary presents illustrative results and considers findings from the tool that have important implications for tackling health inequalities in Scotland. Please note, these outputs from the initial phase of the project have been superseded by the more recent outputs published in 2019, which are available on the Public Health Scotland website.
Main Outputs - December 2014
Informing Investment to reduce health Inequalities (III) in Scotland: a commentary (529Kb)
(Please note: The initial phase of the Triple I project referred to 'Informing Investment' rather than 'Informing Interventions'.)
III Intervention Tool: Income (573Kb)
III Intervention Tool: Employment (919Kb)
III Intervention Tool: Active Travel (871Kb)
(Please note: The active travel tool was updated in February 2017 to correct two errors affecting local estimates of impact. More detail is provided within the tool.)
III Intervention Tool: Tobacco Taxation (818Kb)
III Intervention Tool: Smoking Cessation (1010Kb)
III Intervention Tool: Alcohol Brief Interventions (1086Kb)
III Intervention Tool: Counterweight (1062Kb)
Appendix A: sensitivity analysis (67Kb)
Appendix B: explaining the delayed mortality effect (49Kb)
Appendix C: user guide (192Kb)
Appendix D: technical guide (615Kb)
Additional Outputs - August 2015
Separate tools have been created (for Orkney and Shetland only) which calculate inequalities based on populations resident in SIMD quintiles 2-5 only, since these Islands have no residents living in the national SIMD quintile 1 (most deprived). These results are not comparable with the inequalities results presented in the tools above.
III Intervention Tool: Income – Islands (547Kb)
III Intervention Tool: Employment – Islands (884Kb)
III Intervention Tool: Active Travel – Islands (849Kb)
III Intervention Tool: Tobacco Taxation - Islands (796Kb)
III Intervention Tool: Smoking Cessation – Islands (983Kb)
III Intervention Tool: Alcohol Brief Interventions – Islands (1019Kb)
III Intervention Tool: Counterweight - Islands (1039Kb)
The Health Inequalities Tool for Scotland (HITS) (published 2012)
The Health Inequalities Tool for Scotland (aka 'HITS'), published in 2012, preceded the Triple I project.
HITS included numerical models of the potential impact of three interventions on overall population health and health inequalities. These interventions were: NHS smoking cessation services; Alcohol Brief Interventions; and, Counterweight (an intervention to reduce BMI). These interventions were chosen because evidence of their effectiveness was available.
For individuals who smoke, consume alcohol at hazardous / harmful levels, or are overweight / obese, there are clear health benefits from stopping smoking, lowering alcohol intake, or lowering BMI, respectively. However, the HITS tool was instead concerned with how delivering these interventions to a population can affect overall population health and health inequalities.
This tool had limited scope, was based on various assumptions, and used methods and input data that had important limitations. Therefore, results should be interpreted accordingly.
The tool is available as three Excel spreadsheets, which are accompanied by a user guide and cost briefing.
A separate commentary presents illustrative results and considers findings from the tool that have important implications for tackling health inequalities in Scotland.
