Hospitalisation patterns in children from 10 Aboriginal communities in the Northern Territory

Objective To describe childhood hospitalisation patterns in rural Aboriginal communities in the Northern Territory. Design Longitudinal data for 1976–1985 were collected retrospectively between March 1986 and December 1987. Cohort All children born between 1 January 1976 and 31 December 1985 and identified in records at 10 community health centres were included in the study, except for 30 children who were residents of more than one community. Records of hospital admissions were ascertained for the remaining 2254 children until five years of age or 31 December 1985, whichever was earlier. Results Mean admission rates for Aboriginal children aged 0–1 year were two to three times the national average, and there was a fourfold excess in the number of days in hospital and the number of deaths before the age of five years for Aboriginal infants. Admission rates varied by community, age, year and sex: at 0–6 months of age, rates for communities ranged from a minimum of 0.21 to a maximum of 1.46 admissions per child‐year at risk and mean rates increased from 0.50 per year in 1976 to 1.05 in 1985; mean admission rates declined from 0.84 per child‐year at age 0–6 months to 0.12 at age 37–60 months. Boys were admitted to hospital more frequently than girls. For communities, hospital stay ranged from a minimum of 2.7 to a maximum of 15.3 hospital days per child‐year at risk. Conclusions Differences of up to sevenfold in hospitalisation rates between communities highlight the potential for primary and secondary prevention of childhood disease in Aboriginal communities.