Access to health and services for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people (Indigenous Australians) typically die at much younger ages than other Australians and are more likely to experience disability and reduced quality of life because of ill health. One important contributor to health and wellbeing is access to health services. This paper examines Indigenous Australians' use of a range of health services, including those that provide preventive, primary and community health, hospital or specialised care.
A profile of homelessness for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people had four times the rate of homelessness compared to other Australians (191 per 10,000 compared with 49 per 10,000 in the 2006 Census). Homeless Indigenous Australians were more likely to sleep rough, or in improvised dwellings and shelters, than non-Indigenous Australians (27% compared with 15%). Indigenous people are overrepresented as clients of specialist homelessness services - while 2.5% of Australians were Indigenous, and 9% of homeless Australians were Indigenous, about 17% of people assisted by specialist homelessness services in 2008-09 were Indigenous.
Older Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people
This report describes the age and geographic distribution of the older Indigenous population, its particular requirements in terms of aged care and support, and the pattern of usage of these services. At the 2006 Census, there were approximately 60,000 Indigenous Australians aged 50 years and over, accounting for about 12% of the total Indigenous population. By comparison, 31% of the non-Indigenous population fell into this age group. However, the number of older Indigenous people is growing and estimated at 76,300 in 2011. Older Indigenous people have poorer health and higher rates of disability than other Australians in the same age group.
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people with disability: wellbeing, participation and support
This report explores the experience of Indigenous people with disability compared with Indigenous people without disability and all Australians with similar severity of disability. It addresses how they are faring in terms of five key areas reflecting aspects of participation in the context of prevalence rates. Indigenous people in Australia have rates of ill-health and disability substantially higher than other Australians. Census 2006 data suggest that Indigenous people are 2-3 times more likely to need assistance with the core activities of daily living (self-care, communication and mobility) than non-Indigenous people.
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander child safety
This paper provides an overview of key measures of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander child safety, presenting a range of information relating to child injury and violence; child protection; and juvenile justice. National data show that Indigenous children are over-represented across a range of measures: for example, Indigenous children were 5 times as likely as non-Indigenous children to experience a hospital separation for assault; 8 times as likely to be the subject of substantiated child abuse or neglect; and 15 times as likely to be under juvenile justice supervision.
The health and welfare of Australia's Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people: an overview 2011
The health and welfare of Australia's Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people: an overview 2011 is a summary publication of Indigenous health and welfare statistics prepared by the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare. Together with a series of articles available online from the AIHW Indigenous observatory and the Australian Bureau of Statistics, it provides a comprehensive statistical picture of Indigenous health and welfare. Topics covered in the publication include: demographic characteristics; determinants of health and welfare; health and functioning; mortality and life expectancy; health across the life stages; health care and other support services; and health and welfare expenditure.
Dental health of Indigenous children in the Northern Territory: findings from the Closing the Gap Program
This report details the oral health of Indigenous children in the Northern Territory who have received dental services as part of the Closing the Gap Initiative.
Substance use among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people
The report will focus on three main categories of substance that have major health implications for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people: tobacco smoking, alcohol use and illicit substance use.
State owned and managed Indigenous housing 2009-10
This publication presents results from the 2009-10 state owned and managed Indigenous housing data collection. More complete analysis of these results is available in the forthcoming AIHW publication Housing assistance in Australia 2011.
Injury of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people due to transport, 2003-04 to 2007-08
Land transport accidents accounted for 20% of fatal injury cases and 8% of all injury hospitalisations for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. Based on age-standardised rates, there were 2.7 times more fatalities and 20% more serious injury among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people compared to other Australians.
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Services Report, 2008-09: OATSIH Services Reporting - Key Results
The main findings from the 2008-09 OATSIH Services Reporting data collection show that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander:- primary health care services provided 2.1 million episodes of health care to around 375,000 clients- substance use specific services provided treatment and assistance to address substance use issues to about 23,200 clients- Bringing Them Home and Link Up counselling services provided counselling to about 8,400 clients.
Incidence of Type 1 diabetes in Australian children 2000-2008
Type 1 diabetes is a serious, life-long disease which causes a major health, social and economic burden for individuals with the disease, their families and the community. There were over 8,000 new cases of Type 1 diabetes diagnosed in Australian children between 2000 and 2008, an average of two new cases every day. But, while the rate of new cases increased significantly over the first part of the decade (2000-2004), there has been little change since 2005. Incidence of Type 1 diabetes in Australian children 2000-2008 presents the latest available national data on new cases of Type 1 diabetes for children from Australia's National Diabetes Register.
Indigenous community housing 2008-09
Indigenous community housing 2008-09 includes national data collected by the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare on Indigenous community housing. Information is presented on a range of Indigenous housing indicators including overcrowding, dwelling condition, affordability, connection to services and recurrent and capital expenditure. There is also information on Indigenous community housing organisations such as whether they have a housing management plan and the proportion of employees undertaking training.
National best practice guidelines for collecting Indigenous status in health data sets
All clients of health services should be asked if they are of Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander origin in the process of routine data collection. Despite improvements in recent years, there have been continuing problems in establishing and maintaining standard practice in the collection of Indigenous status, resulting in the under-identification of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in key national health data sets. These guidelines have been developed to ensure the standard Indigenous status question is asked correctly and consistently of all clients of health services, and that this information is correctly recorded.
Indigenous identification in hospital separations data: quality report
This report presents results of an audit of the quality of Indigenous identification in hospital separations data and makes recommendations regarding the use of Indigenous status information. The report is a useful resource for health information managers and researchers.
Expenditure on health for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people 2006-07
Expenditure on health and high care residential aged care for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people amounted to $2,976 million in 2006-07, or 3.1% of national expenditure on health and high care residential aged care. In 2006-07, the average expenditure per person on health and high care residential aged care was $5,696 for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. For non-Indigenous people, the average expenditure per person was $4,557. The ratio of Indigenous to non-Indigenous expenditure per person was 1.25. For the Australian Government schemes of Medicare and the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS), total benefits paid per Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander person were 59% of the amount spent on non-Indigenous people. Expenditure on health for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people 2006-07 provides policy makers and program managers with detailed information for further analysis.
Progress of the NT Emergency Response Child Health Check Initiative: update on results from the Child Health Check and follow-up data collections
This is the third and final progress report on the Child Health Check Initiative (CHCI), which provides information on the health conditions identified at the CHC and the extent of follow-up services provided to Indigenous children in prescribed areas.The report shows that a high proportion of children (76%) live in a household with a smoker; 43% have at least one type of oral health condition; 30% have at least one type of skin condition and 30% have ear disease. Follow-up services have been provided to a large number of children and the extent of audiology and dental service delivery has more than doubled since December 2008. There is, however, a continuing need for health services among these children, particularly in the areas of dental, primary health care, audiology and ENT services.
AIHW Access no. 26: November 2009
Access is a newsletter published by the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, profiling the Institute's work and its people.
Indigenous housing needs 2009: a multi-measure needs model
The Indigenous population experiences higher rates of homelessness and overcrowding than the non-Indigenous population. Whilst non-Indigenous Australians experience higher rates of affordability need, houses are least affordable for Indigenous Australians living in major cities. The number of additional dwellings required to address these problems is estimated to be 9,795. Since the 2005 report, connection to essential services and levels of overcrowding have improved, however, dwelling condition has deteriorated. Indigenous housing needs 2009: a multi-measure needs model presents the most recent data on the level of Indigenous housing need across five dimensions, estimates the current dwelling need gap and provides projections of Indigenous housing need.
Indigenous housing indicators 2007-08
In 2007-08, there were over 36,000 dwellings specifically targeted to providing housing assistance to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples - an increase of almost 1,000 dwellings since 2005-06. A further 58,000 Indigenous households were receiving assistance through mainstream housing programs in the same period. Indigenous housing indicators 2007-08 provides current national data across all housing assistance programs on a range of key Indigenous housing indicators including connection to services, dwelling condition, overcrowding, affordability of housing, rents collected and charged, and recurrent and capital expenditure on Indigenous housing.
A picture of Australia's children 2009
This report delivers the latest information on how, as a nation, we are faring according to key indicators of child health, development and wellbeing. Death rates among children have fallen dramatically, and most children are physically active and meet minimum standards for reading and numeracy. But it is not all good news. Rates of severe disability and diabetes are on the rise. Too many children are overweight or obese, or are at risk of homelessness, and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children fare worse on most key indicators.
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health labour force statistics and data quality assessment
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health labour force statistics and data quality assessment provides comprehensive data on the Indigenous health labour force. Data are drawn from censuses, surveys and administrative data sources. The report presents information on Indigenous medical practitioners, nurses, Aboriginal health workers and those studying health. The report also assesses the quality of Indigenous labour force data. It provides a useful resource for policy makers, administrators and researchers interested in the Indigenous labour force.
International Group for Indigenous Health Measurement 2006, Canberra
Significant health disparities exist between indigenous and non-indigenous populations in Australia, Canada, New Zealand and the United States. But how can policy makers reduce these disparities if high-quality data isn't available? The International Group for Indigenous Health Measurement is committed to the highest quality collection, dissemination, and use of data related to indigenous health. The second meeting of the Group was held in Canberra, November 2006. In this publication you will find the proceedings of that meeting including abstracts and biographies and also information on how these different countries identify, collect and count data on their indigenous populations.
Measuring the social and emotional wellbeing of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples
Measuring the social and emotional wellbeing of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples provides a picture of the social and emotional wellbeing of Indigenous Australians using data from the 2004-05 National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Survey (NATSIHS) and a range of administrative datasets. The report also assesses the interim module that was developed to measure social and emotional wellbeing used in the 2004-05 NATSIHS, and makes a number of recommendations to improve measures of social and emotional well-being.This report is a useful resource for policy makers, administrators of programs and researchers with an interest in issues affecting Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Performance Framework 2008 report: detailed analyses
This report contains detailed analyses underlying the summary data presented in the policy report Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Performance Framework 2008 report, produced by the Department of Health and Ageing. The Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Performance Framework (HPF) is designed to provide the basis to monitor the impact of the National Strategic Framework for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health (NSFATSH) and inform policy analyses, planning and program implementation. The HPF consists of 70 measures covering three tiers: health status and outcomes, determinants of health and health systems performance.