Indigenous health: Patterns of variation in terms of disease categories

Abstract

While many studies investigated the higher morbidity and mortality levels ofindigenous Australians in the high-density indigenous areas in the Northern Territory,Western Australia and South Australia, few examined the situation in New SouthWales, where more than 28% of the indigenous population lives. Admissions to acutepublic and private hospitals in New South Wales for 1989?1995 are used in the studyreported here to examine indigenous health and its differential patterns by diseasecategories. The study allowed for the monitoring of disease groups with particularlyhigh indigenous admissions and, accordingly, pinpointed areas for improvement. Age-standardisedestimates for the indigenous population are provided. Age compositionof admissions for each disease category and admissions by residential area are alsoestimated.