Remoteness area

Results from the 2018-2019 National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Survey show many differences in self-reported health and wellness measures for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples living in different remoteness areas (AIHW analysis of ABS 2019).

For example, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples living in remote areas were less likely than those living in non-remote areas to report:

  • fair/poor health status (20% compared with 25%)
  • mental health and behavioural conditions (9.8% compared with 28%)
  • asthma (8.6% compared with 17%) or arthritis (5.9% compared with 12%)
  • not consuming alcohol in the last 12 months or having never consumed alcohol (36.9% compared with 22.9%) (AIHW analysis of ABS 2019).

Also, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples living in remote areas were more likely than those living in non-remote areas to report:

  • diabetes mellitus (11.8% compared with 7.0%), hypertension (10% compared with 7.9%) or kidney disease (3.4% compared with 1.4%)
  • being a current smoker (59% compared with 40%) (AIHW analysis of ABS 2019).

Many Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples who live in remote areas, live on Country and continue ancestral cultural practices which have been ongoing for tens of thousands of years, and report positive wellbeing related to their connection to culture and community (Cairney et al. 2017). It is important to note that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples who live in urban areas also have this connection to Country, culture and community.

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women living in remote areas can experience poorer health outcomes, which are compounded by factors related to geographic isolation, such as poorer access to appropriate housing, essential services and employment opportunities (AIHW 2020).

Previous reports have shown that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander mothers who lived in remote areas were more likely to face socioeconomic disadvantage, have poorer access to maternity care, have higher rates of behavioural risk factors and pre-existing maternal health conditions, and have babies who experienced poorer outcomes than Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander mothers who lived in non-remote areas (AIHW 2022).

This report shows that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander females who gave birth and lived in Remote or Very remote areas were more likely than those living in non-remote areas to:

  • be aged under 20
  • smoke during pregnancy
  • be underweight (a body mass index of less than 18.5. For more information see Healthy maternal weight).
  • have pre-existing and gestational diabetes
  • give birth to a baby who was pre-term, of low birthweight or small for gestational age.

In 2020 7.4% of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander females who gave birth lived in Remote areas and 11% lived in Very remote areas, compared with 1.1% and 0.4%, respectively, of non-Indigenous females.

Over time, the proportion of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander females who gave birth and lived in Very remote areas has declined (from 15% in 2012 to 11% in 2020), whilst there has been a corresponding increase in those living in Major cities (from 31% in 2012 to 37% in 2020).

The data visualisation below shows the proportion of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander and non-Indigenous females who gave birth by remoteness area from 2012.

Figure 1: Proportion of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander and non-Indigenous females who gave birth by remoteness area from 2012 to 2020

Line graph of remoteness areas by Indigenous status. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander mothers who lived in major cities increased

Visualisation not available for printing

References

ABS (Australian Bureau of Statistics) (2019) Microdata: National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Survey, 2018-19, AIHW analysis of microdata, accessed 10 October 2022.

AIHW (Australian Institute of Health and Welfare) (2022) Australia’s Health 2022: data insights, Cat. no. AUS 240 Canberra: AIHW.

AIHW (2020) Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Performance Framework 2020 summary report. Cat. no. IHPF 2. Canberra: AIHW.

Cairney S, Abbott T, Quinn S, Yamaguchi J, Wilson B and Wakerman J (2017) ‘Interplay wellbeing framework: a collaborative methodology ‘bringing together stories and numbers’ to quantify Aboriginal cultural values in remote Australia’, International Journal for Equity in Health 16(68), doi: 10.1186/s12939-017-0563-5.