Quebec Deprivation Index with Material and Social Dimensions

Quebec's deprivation index measures material and social deprivation on a small geographic scale using six indicators from the 2021 census. Designed for researching health inequalities and policy development, it provides values for dissemination areas and aggregated health regions.

Use Cases

• Map material and social deprivation scores across dissemination areas for health inequality research.
• Analyze the six deprivation indicators from the 2021 census to identify regional trends.
• Allocate resources to health regions (RSS) or local service networks (RLS) based on index values.
• Combine material and social dimension scores to create a composite deprivation profile for policy evaluation.

Strengths

• Based on authoritative 2021 census data for six indicators.
• Provides geographic aggregation at multiple levels: dissemination areas, health regions (RSS), and local service networks (RLS).
• Offers separate material and social dimension scores for granular analysis.

Limitations

• Specific row count and column details for the underlying data tables are unknown.
• Data is derived from a single census year (2021), limiting longitudinal analysis without older versions.
• Dissemination areas straddling territories are assigned to a single region based on population proportion, which may simplify boundary complexities.

Provenance

Source

Government and Municipalities of Québec, via National Institute of Public Health of Quebec (INSPQ).

Collection Method

Calculated from six indicators in the 2021 census, aggregated to dissemination areas and health regions.

Time Range

2021 (census year).

Freshness

Last updated March 2026, though core data is from the 2021 census.

Geography

Province of Quebec, Canada.