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Demographics
of the health status of ATSI people

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people suffer greater ill-health, are more likely to experience disability and reduced quality of life and to die at younger ages, than other Australians (AIHW 2002c). In the period 1996-2001, the life expectancy at birth was estimated at 59 years for Indigenous males and 65 years for Indigenous females, well below the 77 years for all Australian males and 82 years for all Australian females in 1998-2000 (ABS 2002b).

The chart below is a measure of Indigenous health status as self-assessed. It provides an indicator of overall health and reflects an individual’s perception of his or her own health. As this measure is dependent on an individual’s awareness and expectations regarding their health, it may be influenced by factors such as access to health services and health information. In the 2002 National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Survey (NATSISS) around 42% of Indigenous people aged 18 years or over reported their health as very good or excellent, 33% reported their health as good and 25% reported their health as fair or poor. After adjusting for differences in age structure, Indigenous Australians were twice as likely to report their health as fair or poor than non-Indigenous Australians (ABS 2004f). This was similar to estimates from the 2001 National Health Survey (NHS) which showed that, after adjusting for different age structures in the Indigenous and non-Indigenous populations, Indigenous Australians aged 15 years or over were almost twice as likely to report fair or poor health as non-Indigenous Australians (ABS 2002b).

Self-assessed health status(a), Persons aged 18 years or over - 2002

The Health and Welfare of Australia's Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples (4704.0)

The ABS report The Health and Welfare of Australia's Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples (4704.0) presents a broad picture at a national level. It provides information about the health and welfare of Australia’s Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. It presents a broad picture at a national level and, wherever possible, uses existing and new data sources to reflect the diversity of the Indigenous population, including a separate chapter about Torres Strait Islander people. Also where possible, changes over time in the health and welfare outcomes for Indigenous people are described. The disparities in health and welfare between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians are also explored.
The report is available from the ABS web site.

The report also offers useful information on Indigenous people's access to and use of health services. Lack of access to services can adversely impact on health outcomes and there is some evidence that Indigenous people do not have the same level of access to many health services as other Australians.

The followong chart shows the self assess health status of Indigenous and Non-indgienous

Further health status information is available from the ABS