The Australian Government has committed to reducing Indigenous disadvantage, including closing the life-expectancy gap within a generation, and to halving the gap in mortality rates for children under 5 years of age within a decade. Sixty per cent of the health gap between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians is attributable to the health of Indigenous people living in non-remote areas of Australia. We conducted a brief review of recent Australian original research publications on the health of the 53% of Indigenous people who live in urban areas, and found that data are sparse; there were only 63 studies in the past 5 years (11% of all articles about Indigenous health during this period). Although Indigenous Australians living in remote areas experience greater health disparity, the government will not achieve its aims without paying due attention to the non-remote-living population. More research is required, and particularly research that actually tests the impact of policies and programs.
AD - Baker IDI Heart and Diabetes Institute, Melbourne, VIC, Australia. Sandra.eades@bakeridi.edu.au AN - 21034386 BT - Medical Journal of Australia ET - 2010/11/03 LA - eng M1 - 9 N1 - Eades, Sandra JTaylor, BronwenBailey, SandraWilliamson, Anna BCraig, Jonathan CRedman, SallySEARCH InvestigatorsResearch Support, Non-U.S. Gov'tReviewAustraliaThe Medical journal of AustraliaMed J Aust. 2010 Nov 1;193(9):521-4. N2 -The Australian Government has committed to reducing Indigenous disadvantage, including closing the life-expectancy gap within a generation, and to halving the gap in mortality rates for children under 5 years of age within a decade. Sixty per cent of the health gap between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians is attributable to the health of Indigenous people living in non-remote areas of Australia. We conducted a brief review of recent Australian original research publications on the health of the 53% of Indigenous people who live in urban areas, and found that data are sparse; there were only 63 studies in the past 5 years (11% of all articles about Indigenous health during this period). Although Indigenous Australians living in remote areas experience greater health disparity, the government will not achieve its aims without paying due attention to the non-remote-living population. More research is required, and particularly research that actually tests the impact of policies and programs.
PY - 2010 SN - 0025-729X (Print)0025-729X (Linking) SP - 521 EP - 4 T2 - Medical Journal of Australia TI - The health of urban Aboriginal people: insufficient data to close the gap VL - 193 ER -