Tackling inequalities in health: Evaluating the New Deal for Communities initiative

Objective: To assess health improvement and differential changes in health across various sociodemographic groups in neighbourhood renewal areas. Design and setting: A longitudinal survey of 10 390 residents in New Deal for Communities (NDC) areas and 977 residents in comparator areas in England. Measures and methods: Changes on several outcomes across five domains (health, unemployment, education, crime and the physical environment) were assessed by sex, age, educational and ethnic group. Results: Small overall improvements were seen on all domains in NDC areas but similar improvements were also seen in comparator areas. In NDC areas, higher educational groups were more likely to stop smoking, less likely to develop a limiting long-term illness, more likely to find employment and more likely to participate in education or training (p for trend