Key Result Area Guideline 2:

Aboriginal health information

The continuing poor health status of Aboriginal people has led to a renewed concern from governments, researchers, health planners and practitioners in recent years. Health status needs to be seen in the context of other social and economic factors. A recent report, Overview of Indigenous Health 2004 (Thomson et al 2004 ) in the Australian Indigenous Health Bulletin suggests:

The current health status of Indigenous people is only explicable in terms of their extreme social disadvantage. This social disadvantage, directly related to dispossession and characterised by poverty and powerlessness, is reflected in measures of their education, employment, income and housing. (Thomson et al 2004:6)

These authors conclude:

Indigenous people remain the least healthy sub-population in Australia, and there is evidence that the disparity between Indigenous and non-Indigenous health, at least measured by mortality, has widened in recent years. The lack of real improvement in Indigenous mortality in Australia contrasts markedly with the situation among Indigenous people in New Zealand, Canada and the United States. . Achievement of these changes will require progress in five areas: infrastructure (including physical environmental and socioeconomic aspects); Indigenous self-determination of health services; access to a network of community-controlled primary healthcare services; an adequate level of resources; and a skilled workforce. (Thomson et al 2004:42)

Many reports have analysed and summarised the situation of Aboriginal health. The following summary is drawn from the Overview of Indigenous Health 2004 report.

The national picture includes information on

Birth and pregnancy outcomes: In 2003, Aboriginal women had more babies and at younger ages than non-Aboriginal women. The highest birth rates were for the 20-24 years age group for Aboriginal women, and 30-34 for non-Aboriginal women. The average birthweight of babies born to Aboriginal mothers was 3,166 grams, about 200 grams less than the average for babies born to non-Aboriginal mothers.

Mortality : Allowing for data shortcomings, death rates for Aboriginal people were between two and four times those of non-Aboriginal people in 2001. Aboriginal males born in 1999-2001 could be expected to live to 56.3 years, almost 21 years less than the 77 years expected for all males. For Aboriginal females, life expectancy was 62.8 years, almost 20 years less than the 82.4 years for all females. Age-specific death rates are higher for Aboriginal people than for the total population, and the rate ratios are particularly high in the young and middle adult years.

Hospitalisation : There were twice as many hospital separations for Aboriginal people in 2002-3 than there were for non-Aboriginal people. This was the case across all age groups, with the highest differences in the middle adult years. The most common reason for hospitalisation for Aboriginal people was dialysis care, with injury and accidents the next most common cause.

For a national summary of Australian Indigenous Health, February 2005, go to:
http://www.healthinfonet.ecu.edu.au/html/html_keyfacts/keyfacts_plain_lang_summary.htm

Aboriginal Health in Victoria

Aboriginal health status in Victoria is similar to the national situation. For health and wellbeing information specific to Victoria go to the Aboriginal Affairs Victoria website at
http://www.aboriginalaffairs.vic.gov.au/

The Koori Human Services Unit at DHS has a Koori Health website, with information including reports from Koori Hospital Liaison Officers. Go to
http://www.health.vic.gov.au/koori/

VACCHO has compiled an excellent Koori Health Summary (Word File 1.5MB)

VAED hospital data for 2003-04 reveals that the risk of hospital admission for chronic diseases in the Aboriginal population in Victoria is very high, for example:

• For alcohol and substance use related disease: 7.7 times higher in Aboriginal males aged 20-39
• For asthma : 4.0 times higher in Aboriginal females aged 40-64
• For cardiovascular disease , including stroke and rheumatic disease: 5.0 times higher in Aboriginal females aged 20-39
• For chronic lung disease , including emphysema: 25.7 times higher in Aboriginal females aged 40-64
• For diabetes : 14.7 times higher in Aboriginal males aged 40-64
• For dialysis due to diabetes and other causes: 10.8 times higher in Indigenous females aged 40-64

Contact: Koori Human Services Unit, Department of Human Services, 20/50 Lonsdale St, Melbourne 3000
Telephone (03) 9096 7032
Email: koori@dhs.vic.gov.au