This paper describes the development of a new deprivation index for New Zealand, a theoretical and methodological shift from the New Zealand Deprivation Index that has been used since the 1990s as the universal measure of area-based social circumstances. The study researchers developed a customised geographical boundary file known as Data Zones, which uses routine datasets and methods comparable to current international deprivation indices. They identified 28 indicators of deprivation from national health, social development, taxation, education, police databases, geospatial data providers and the 2013 Census, all of which represented 7 Domains (Employment, Income, Crime, Housing, Health, Education, and Geographical Access). These Domains have been combined into the New Zealand Index of Multiple Deprivation (IMD) and may be used individually or in combination, to explore the geography of deprivation and its association with a given health or social outcome. Geographical variations in the distribution of the IMD and its Domains among the country’s 20 District Health Boards suggest that factors underpinning overall deprivation are inconsistent across the country.
