Premium
INFANT MORTALITY IN 12 ABORIGINAL SETTLEMENTS: QUEENSLAND, 1972–1976
Author(s) -
Cox John Warwick
Publication year - 1979
Publication title -
medical journal of australia
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.904
H-Index - 131
eISSN - 1326-5377
pISSN - 0025-729X
DOI - 10.5694/j.1326-5377.1979.tb112168.x
Subject(s) - infant mortality , human settlement , medicine , mortality rate , demography , pneumonia , pediatrics , environmental health , geography , population , surgery , archaeology , sociology
The infant mortality rate amongst Aborigines from 12 Queensland Aboriginal settlements and missions over the years 1972 to 1976 was 72 per 1000 live births. This rate is comparable with that for Queensland of 60 years ago. The Aboriginal infants had twice the present‐day Queensland risk of neonatal death and eight times the risk of postneonatal death. Prematurity was the major cause of neonatal deaths; gastroenteritis and pneumonia were the major causes of infant deaths. These rates emphasise the need for community and preventive health care for the Aboriginal children, particularly during the postneonatal period.