Aboriginal health issues

1. Aboriginal health issues A Short, Sharp, Simple, And Woefully Table Filled Guide To Indigenous Health And Illness Issues ~Ben and Callum INDEX

2. Introduction • Aboriginal health is an important part of the Australian community, as aboriginal and Torres strait islanders make up five hundred and seventeen thousand of the total Australian population. • This presentation is a explanation and guide through the research area of Aboriginal/Torres Straight Islander health. INDEX • Problems for indigenous childbearing mothers • Mortality rates • Hospitalisations • Selected Health Conditions • Glossary • Facts • Bibliography

3. Problems for childbearing mothers The average birthweight of babies born to indigenous mothers in 2008 was 3,156 grams, when a child has a lower birth weight, they can have a higher risk of death in infancy than those that have a higher birthweight. But the main problems for indigenous childbearing mothers in Australia is when the baby born is LBW (Low Birth Weight, not Leg Before Wicket), LBW is classified weighing newborns, if they have a weight of under 2,500 grams (2.5 kilos) they have a much higher chance of acquiring a mental/physical infancy illness. Indigenous mothers have Double the chance of having a low birth weight child than non-indigenous mothers. INDEX

4. Mortality Rates Morality rates are a measure of the number of deaths in a population, the indigenous population, in some places has Three Times The Amount of deaths from 2006-2010 in comparison to the amount of non-indigenous deaths from 2006-2010 See table (Pictured right) that shows Age-specific mortality rates, by Indigenous status and sex, and Indigenous : non-Indigenous rate ratios, NSW, Qld, SA and the NT, 2006-2010 INDEX

5. Hospitalisations Statistics on hospitalisation can show an important value in evaluating the ill-health of the population. Hospitalisation tables can not, and should not, be a perfect representation of the ill-health among people. Below are the Numbers of hospital separations and age-standardised separation rates, by Indigenous status and jurisdiction, and Indigenous : non-Indigenous rate ratios, NSW, Vic, Qld, WA, SA and the NT, 2009-10[2] INDEX

6. Selected Health Conditions INDEX

7. GLOSSARY • Indigenous - native, original inhabitant (of someplace) • aboriginal – Same definition (capital A implies Australian aborigine) • An Australian Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander person is one who: • is of Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander descent; and • identifies as an Australian Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander person; and • is accepted as such by the community in which s/he lives or has lived [1] • Mortality rate  is a measure of the number of deaths (in general, or due to a specific cause) in a population, scaled to the size of that population, per unit of time [3] • Hospital separation -Separation from a healthcare facility occurs anytime a patient (or resident) leaves because of death, sign-out, or otherwise • Jurisdiction 1.the right, power, or authority to administer justice by hearing and determining controversies. 2.power; authority; control: He has jurisdiction over all American soldiers in the area. 3.the extent or range of judicial, law enforcement, or other authority: This case comes under the jurisdiction of the local police. 4.the territory over which authority is exercised: All islands to the northwest are his jurisdiction. INDEX

8. FACTS INDEX • Education • According to the 2006 Australian census [20]: • 88% of five-year-old Indigenous children and 95% of five-year-old non-Indigenous children were attending an educational institution • 2.5% of the Indigenous population had not attended school compared with 0.9% of the non-Indigenous population • one-third (32%) of Indigenous people reported year 10 as their highest year of school completion; less than one-quarter (22%) had completed year 12, compared with almost one-half (47%) of non-Indigenous people • one-quarter (25%) of Indigenous people reported having a post-school qualification, compared with almost one-half (47%) of non-Indigenous people • only 1.7% of Indigenous people reported attending a university, compared with 4.1% of non-Indigenous people. An ABS school report [21] revealed, in 2010: • the apparent retention rate for Indigenous students from year 7/8 to year 10 was 96%, from year 7/8 to year 12 it was 47% • for non-Indigenous students, the apparent retention rate from year 7/8 to year 10 was 101%; and from year 7/8 to year 12 it was 79%. • The 2010 national report on schooling in Australia [22] showed: • 75% of Indigenous students in year three and 66% in year five were at or above the national minimum standard for reading, compared with 95% and 93% respectively of all Australian students • 79% of year three Indigenous students and 71% of year five Indigenous students were at or above the national minimum standard for writing, compared with 97% of all year three students and 94% of year five students • 66% of year three Indigenous students and 71% of year five Indigenous students were at or above the national minimum standard for spelling, compared with 94% of all year three students and 93% of year five students • 66% of year three Indigenous students and 65% of year five Indigenous students were at or above the national minimum standard for grammar and punctuation, compared with 97% of all year three students and 94% of year five students • 77% of Indigenous students in year three and 71% in year five were at or above the national minimum standard for numeracy, compared with 96% and 95% respectively of all Australian students. • Income • According to the 2006 Australian census [20]: • the mean equivalised gross household income for Indigenous persons was $460 per week – approximately 62% of that for non-Indigenous persons ($740) • 45% of the Indigenous population were in the lowest income quintile (mean equivalised gross household income of less than $315 per week). The non-Indigenous population was almost evenly distributed among the five income quintiles • the median gross individual income for Indigenous people was $278 per week compared with $473 for non-Indigenous people • ‘professionals’ were the highest median gross weekly income earners and ‘labourers’ were the lowest, but Indigenous people earned 28% and 16% less respectively than non-Indigenous people in these occupations.

9. Bibliography • All facts were directly quoted from HealthInfoNet. -Their bibliography. • Glossary definitions from Dictionary.com. • Facts in slides/ table information (excludes the “fact” slide) was also found on HealthInfoNet. • Thanks For Reading! INDEX