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Post‐neonatal mortality by rurality and Indigenous status in Queensland
Author(s) -
Coory Michael,
Hockey Richard,
Flenady Vicki,
Woodgate Paul
Publication year - 2006
Publication title -
journal of paediatrics and child health
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.631
H-Index - 76
eISSN - 1440-1754
pISSN - 1034-4810
DOI - 10.1111/j.1440-1754.2006.00899.x
Subject(s) - medicine , rurality , indigenous , environmental health , rural area , ecology , pathology , biology
Aim: To compare post‐neonatal mortality among urban and rural Indigenous babies in Queensland. Methods: Registrations of deaths at ages 28 days to 12 months were linked to routine data from the Queensland Perinatal Data Collection. Results: Indigenous babies were 2.52 times more likely to die during the post‐neonatal period than non‐Indigenous babies (95% confidence interval: 1.99, 3.20). The differential remained when urban and rural areas were examined separately: the differential was 2.53 (1.81, 3.54) in urban areas and 2.26 (1.58, 3.23) in rural areas. Conclusion: The key demographic variable that determines post‐neonatal mortality in Queensland is Indigenous status, not rurality. This has important policy implications because it means that interventions to reduce the disparity in mortality between Indigenous and non‐Indigenous babies should be delivered in urban as well as rural areas. Better routine data are needed and in particular clinical classification of deaths, so that interventions can be monitored and avoidable factors identified.