Investigating socioeconomic, household and environmental risk factors for Covid-19 in Scotland

Status: Active

Categories: ADR Scotland, Employment & the economy

26 March 2026

This study aims to use linked administrative data for a large cohort of the Scottish population to enhance our understanding of how the occupational, household and environmental circumstances in which people live impact the risk of adverse Covid-19 outcomes.

Image shows an arial view of people walking

Research focus

There is growing evidence that a range of social and environmental factors may put some groups at greater risk in the Covid-19 pandemic. Some of these risks may arise from the occupations that individuals do: the extent to which they work in close proximity with others or are unable to work from home, for example. Others may stem from household and housing conditions, notably larger household size and levels of overcrowding, which may compound risks for vulnerable populations, such as those advised to shield due to underlying health conditions and disabled people. This study aims to improve our understanding of the impact of socioeconomic, household and environmental risk factors associated with adverse Covid-19 health outcomes, including infection, hospitalisation and Covid-19-related death. The results of the study will help to inform future government policy responses and longer-term efforts to reduce social inequalities as a form of public health intervention.

Linking data sources

As part of the Covid-19 Data Intelligence Network, a research team from the Scottish Centre for Administrative Data Research (SCADR) has been tasked by Scottish Government to investigate the socioeconomic, household and environmental risk factors for Covid-19 health outcomes. In this study we combine individual-level health records from Public Health Scotland Covid-19 Research Database including primary and secondary care data, Covid-19 test data, vaccination data and mortality data, with:

(i) individual-level demographic and socioeconomic information derived from 2011 Census;

(ii) innovative household-level information derived from Ordnance Survey’s Unique Property Reference Number (UPRN) for each address in Scotland;

(iii) area-level environmental data from a range of publicly available sources.

Data sources

Unique Property Reference Number (UPRN)
Community Health Index (CHI)
2011 Census
plus several primary and secondary care data

What this will enable researchers to do

The results of this study will help to inform current and future government policy responses, should there be additional pandemics.

Research Team

Serena Pattaro (Project Lead), Professor Nick Bailey, Yusuff Adebayo Adebisi (PhD) and Professor Chris Dibben

Publications, Outputs and Media Coverage

For more information about this project, please contact us.