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Using indicator-level Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation data, we demonstrate how fsQCA identifies necessary conditions and multiple sufficient configurations linking combinations of income, employment, education and training, housing, crime and access-related deprivation to area-level health outcomes. The analysis shows that fsQCA can accommodate equifinality and causal asymmetry, revealing recurring constellations of disadvantage associated with poor health and distinct configurations linked to better health. Rather than estimating average net effects, fsQCA makes explicit the specific combinations of conditions most consistently associated with health outcomes. The study demonstrates how configurational methods can complement existing quantitative approaches and offers a practical template for incorporating fsQCA into applied public health and health policy research.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.1136\/jech-2026-225858","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,18]],"date-time":"2026-09-18T17:20:44Z","timestamp":1789752044000},"page":"jech-2026-225858","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1136\/crossmarkpolicy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Fuzzy-set qualitative analysis in public health: an illustrative application to social determinants of health in Dundee, Aberdeen and Glasgow"],"prefix":"10.1136","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0009-0006-1789-0419","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Kieran","family":"Laskawy","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"University of Glasgow College of Social Sciences, Glasgow, UK"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Ian","family":"Greener","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Sociological and Cultural Studies, University of Glasgow School of Social and Political Sciences, Glasgow, Scotland, UK"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"239","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,18]]},"reference":[{"key":"2026091810202316000_jech-2026-225858v1.1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","DOI":"10.1097\/AS9.0000000000000337","article-title":"Defining the Need for Causal Inference to Understand the Impact of Social Determinants of Health: A Primer on Behalf of the Consortium for the Holistic Assessment of Risk in Transplantation (CHART)","volume":"4","author":"Bhavsar","year":"2023","journal-title":"Ann Surg Open"},{"key":"2026091810202316000_jech-2026-225858v1.2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1177\/00333549141291S206"},{"key":"2026091810202316000_jech-2026-225858v1.3","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Ragin CC . 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