IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/spr/chinre/v17y2024i4d10.1007_s12187-024-10143-4.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

The Utility of Socioeconomic and Remoteness Indicators in Understanding the Geographical Variation in the Regional Prevalence of Early Childhood Vulnerability in Australia

Author

Listed:
  • Bernard Baffour

    (The Australian National University)

  • Sumonkanti Das

    (The Australian National University)

  • Mu Li

    (The Australian National University)

  • Alice Richardson

    (Australian National University)

Abstract

The family lives of children and their early childhood development outcomes are attributable to the level of socio-economic disadvantage and relative isolation. This study aims to investigate how the disadvantage of the local area (i.e., socio-economic indexes for areas (SEIFA)) and the remoteness (i.e., accessibility/remoteness index of Australia (ARIA)) contribute to improved prevalence estimates of child development vulnerability in statistical areas level 3 (SA3) and 4 (SA4) across Australia. Data from the 2018 Australian Early Development Census (AEDC) has been used. The study included 308,953 children involved in the AEDC 2018 where one-in-ten of them were considered to be developmentally vulnerable, nationally. We developed models in a hierarchical Bayesian framework at the SA3 level using SEIFA and ARIA indices as covariates to account for spatial and unobserved heterogeneity. The performances of developed models are examined based on the consistency at SA3, SA4, and state level. The results reveal that SEIFA makes a significant contribution to explaining the spatial variation in childhood development vulnerability across small domains in Australia. Further, the inclusion of the ARIA score improves the model performance and provides better accuracy, particularly in remote and very remote regions. In these regions, the spatial model fails to distinguish the remoteness characteristics. The chosen non-spatial model accounting for heterogeneity at higher hierarchies performs best. The utilization of socio-economic disadvantage and geographic remoteness of the finer level domains helps to explain the geographic variation in child development vulnerability, particularly in sparsely populated remote regions in Australia.

Suggested Citation

  • Bernard Baffour & Sumonkanti Das & Mu Li & Alice Richardson, 2024. "The Utility of Socioeconomic and Remoteness Indicators in Understanding the Geographical Variation in the Regional Prevalence of Early Childhood Vulnerability in Australia," Child Indicators Research, Springer;The International Society of Child Indicators (ISCI), vol. 17(4), pages 1791-1827, August.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:chinre:v:17:y:2024:i:4:d:10.1007_s12187-024-10143-4
    DOI: 10.1007/s12187-024-10143-4
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://link.springer.com/10.1007/s12187-024-10143-4
    File Function: Abstract
    Download Restriction: Access to the full text of the articles in this series is restricted.
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1007/s12187-024-10143-4?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Esperanza Vera‐Toscano, 2020. "The Mechanisms Underlying the Intergenerational Transmission of Disadvantage: Three Examples from Australia," Australian Economic Review, The University of Melbourne, Melbourne Institute of Applied Economic and Social Research, vol. 53(2), pages 247-253, June.
    2. Daniel John Exeter & Jinfeng Zhao & Sue Crengle & Arier Lee & Michael Browne, 2017. "The New Zealand Indices of Multiple Deprivation (IMD): A new suite of indicators for social and health research in Aotearoa, New Zealand," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 12(8), pages 1-19, August.
    3. Harm Jan Boonstra & Jan van den Brakel & Sumonkanti Das, 2021. "Multilevel time series modelling of mobility trends in the Netherlands for small domains," Journal of the Royal Statistical Society Series A, Royal Statistical Society, vol. 184(3), pages 985-1007, July.
    4. Robert Tanton & Melanie Dare & Sally Brinkman & Billie-Giles Corti & Ilan Katz & Geoff Woolcock & Sharon Goldfeld, 2017. "Identifying Off-Diagonal Communities Using the Australian Early Development Census Results," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 132(3), pages 977-992, July.
    5. Simon Quilty & Lisa Wood & Sophie Scrimgeour & Geordan Shannon & Elisha Sherman & Bruce Lake & Richard Budd & Paul Lawton & Mary Moloney, 2019. "Addressing Profound Disadvantages to Improve Indigenous Health and Reduce Hospitalisation: A Collaborative Community Program in Remote Northern Territory," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 16(22), pages 1-12, November.
    6. Francesco Figari, 2012. "Cross-national differences in determinants of multiple deprivation in Europe," The Journal of Economic Inequality, Springer;Society for the Study of Economic Inequality, vol. 10(3), pages 397-418, September.
    7. Sollis, Kate & Yap, Mandy & Campbell, Paul & Biddle, Nicholas, 2022. "Conceptualisations of wellbeing and quality of life: A systematic review of participatory studies," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 160(C).
    8. Nicholas Biddle, 2014. "Measuring and Analysing the Wellbeing of Australia’s Indigenous Population," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 116(3), pages 713-729, May.
    9. Yin Paradies, 2016. "Colonisation, racism and indigenous health," Journal of Population Research, Springer, vol. 33(1), pages 83-96, March.
    10. Yin Paradies, 2016. "Erratum to: Colonisation, racism and indigenous health," Journal of Population Research, Springer, vol. 33(2), pages 197-197, June.
    11. David Manley & Maarten van Ham & Lina Hedman, 2020. "Inherited and Spatial Disadvantages: A Longitudinal Study of Early Adult Neighborhood Careers of Siblings," Annals of the American Association of Geographers, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 110(6), pages 1670-1689, November.
    12. Sharon Goldfeld & Geoffrey Woolcock & Ilan Katz & Robert Tanton & Sally Brinkman & Elodie O’Connor & Talya Mathews & Billie Giles-Corti, 2015. "Neighbourhood Effects Influencing Early Childhood Development: Conceptual Model and Trial Measurement Methodologies from the Kids in Communities Study," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 120(1), pages 197-212, January.
    13. Earl W Duncan & Kerrie L Mengersen, 2020. "Comparing Bayesian spatial models: Goodness-of-smoothing criteria for assessing under- and over-smoothing," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 15(5), pages 1-28, May.
    14. David J. Spiegelhalter & Nicola G. Best & Bradley P. Carlin & Angelika Van Der Linde, 2002. "Bayesian measures of model complexity and fit," Journal of the Royal Statistical Society Series B, Royal Statistical Society, vol. 64(4), pages 583-639, October.
    15. Roger D. Peng & Francesca Dominici & Thomas A. Louis, 2006. "Model choice in time series studies of air pollution and mortality," Journal of the Royal Statistical Society Series A, Royal Statistical Society, vol. 169(2), pages 179-203, March.
    16. Hari Vishal Lakhani & Sneha S. Pillai & Mishghan Zehra & Ishita Sharma & Komal Sodhi, 2020. "Systematic Review of Clinical Insights into Novel Coronavirus (CoVID-19) Pandemic: Persisting Challenges in U.S. Rural Population," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(12), pages 1-14, June.
    17. Jonah Gabry & Daniel Simpson & Aki Vehtari & Michael Betancourt & Andrew Gelman, 2019. "Visualization in Bayesian workflow," Journal of the Royal Statistical Society Series A, Royal Statistical Society, vol. 182(2), pages 389-402, February.
    18. Yin Paradies & Jehonathan Ben & Nida Denson & Amanuel Elias & Naomi Priest & Alex Pieterse & Arpana Gupta & Margaret Kelaher & Gilbert Gee, 2015. "Racism as a Determinant of Health: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 10(9), pages 1-48, September.
    19. Bernard Baffour & Hukum Chandra & Arturo Martinez, 2019. "Localised Estimates of Dynamics of Multi‐dimensional Disadvantage: An Application of the Small Area Estimation Technique Using Australian Survey and Census Data," International Statistical Review, International Statistical Institute, vol. 87(1), pages 1-23, April.
    20. Douglas S. Massey & Jonathan Rothwell & Thurston Domina, 2009. "The Changing Bases of Segregation in the United States," The ANNALS of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, , vol. 626(1), pages 74-90, November.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Kathomi Gatwiri & Darlene Rotumah & Elizabeth Rix, 2021. "BlackLivesMatter in Healthcare: Racism and Implications for Health Inequity among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples in Australia," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(9), pages 1-11, April.
    2. Rebecca Singer & Karen Zwi & Robert Menzies, 2019. "Predictors of In-Hospital Mortality in Aboriginal Children Admitted to a Tertiary Paediatric Hospital," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 16(11), pages 1-12, May.
    3. Tamara Mackean & Madison Shakespeare & Matthew Fisher, 2022. "Indigenous and Non-Indigenous Theories of Wellbeing and Their Suitability for Wellbeing Policy," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(18), pages 1-16, September.
    4. Brianna F. Poirier & Joanne Hedges & Lisa G. Smithers & Megan Moskos & Lisa M. Jamieson, 2022. "Child-, Family-, and Community-Level Facilitators for Promoting Oral Health Practices among Indigenous Children," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(3), pages 1-19, January.
    5. Howard, K. & Garvey, G. & Anderson, K. & Dickson, M. & Viney, R. & Ratcliffe, J. & Howell, M. & Gall, A. & Cunningham, J. & Whop, L.J. & Cass, A. & Jaure, A. & Mulhern, B., 2024. "Development of the What Matters 2 Adults (WM2A) wellbeing measure for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander adults," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 347(C).
    6. Yashadhana, Aryati & Fields, Ted & Burnett, Anthea & Zwi, Anthony B., 2021. "Re-examining the gap: A critical realist analysis of eye health inequity among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 284(C).
    7. Greaves, Lara M. & Lindsay Latimer, Cinnamon & Li, Eileen & Hamley, Logan, 2023. "Well-being and cultural identity for Māori: Knowledge of iwi (tribal) affiliations does not strongly relate to health and social service outcomes," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 329(C).
    8. Thom, Rowan Ropata Macgregor & Grimes, Arthur, 2022. "Land loss and the intergenerational transmission of wellbeing: The experience of iwi in Aotearoa New Zealand," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 296(C).
    9. Astghik Mavisakalyan & Yashar Tarverdi, 2023. "Identity and support for policies towards Indigenous people: evidence from Australia," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 167(1), pages 535-570, June.
    10. Burns, Ailish & DeAtley, Teresa & Short, Susan E., 2023. "The maternal health of American Indian and Alaska Native people: A scoping review," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 317(C).
    11. Péta Phelan & Robyn Oxley, 2021. "Understanding the Social and Emotional Wellbeing of Aboriginal LGBTIQ(SB)+ Youth in Victoria’s Youth Detention," Social Inclusion, Cogitatio Press, vol. 9(2), pages 18-29.
    12. Cerdeña, Jessica P. & Rivera, Luisa M. & Spak, Judy M., 2021. "Intergenerational trauma in Latinxs: A scoping review," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 270(C).
    13. Patricia Cullen & Tamara Mackean & Faye Worner & Cleone Wellington & Hayley Longbottom & Julieann Coombes & Keziah Bennett-Brook & Kathleen Clapham & Rebecca Ivers & Maree Hackett & Marlene Longbottom, 2020. "Trauma and Violence Informed Care Through Decolonising Interagency Partnerships: A Complexity Case Study of Waminda’s Model of Systemic Decolonisation," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(20), pages 1-21, October.
    14. Rhys Jones & Alexandra Macmillan & Papaarangi Reid, 2020. "Climate Change Mitigation Policies and Co-Impacts on Indigenous Health: A Scoping Review," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(23), pages 1-18, December.
    15. Joanne Luke & Philippa Dalach & Lindsay Tuer & Ravi Savarirayan & Angeline Ferdinand & Julie McGaughran & Emma Kowal & Libby Massey & Gail Garvey & Hugh Dawkins & Misty Jenkins & Yin Paradies & Glenn , 2022. "Investigating disparity in access to Australian clinical genetic health services for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 13(1), pages 1-11, December.
    16. Tamara Butler & Alana Gall & Gail Garvey & Khwanruethai Ngampromwongse & Debra Hector & Scott Turnbull & Kerri Lucas & Caroline Nehill & Anna Boltong & Dorothy Keefe & Kate Anderson, 2022. "A Comprehensive Review of Optimal Approaches to Co-Design in Health with First Nations Australians," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(23), pages 1-38, December.
    17. Kiran Fahd & Sitalakshmi Venkatraman, 2019. "Racial Inclusion in Education: An Australian Context," Economies, MDPI, vol. 7(2), pages 1-12, April.
    18. Cici Bauer & Jon Wakefield, 2018. "Stratified space–time infectious disease modelling, with an application to hand, foot and mouth disease in China," Journal of the Royal Statistical Society Series C, Royal Statistical Society, vol. 67(5), pages 1379-1398, November.
    19. van Doren, Taylor P. & Zajdman, Deborah & Brown, Ryan A. & Gandhi, Priya & Heintz, Ron & Busch, Lisa & Simmons, Callie & Paddock, Raymond, 2023. "Risk perception, adaptation, and resilience during the COVID-19 pandemic in Southeast Alaska Natives," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 317(C).
    20. Kelvyn Jones & Ron Johnston & James Forrest & Chris Charlton & David Manley, 2018. "Ethnic and class residential segregation: exploring their intersection – a multilevel analysis of ancestry and occupational class in Sydney," Urban Studies, Urban Studies Journal Limited, vol. 55(6), pages 1163-1184, May.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:spr:chinre:v:17:y:2024:i:4:d:10.1007_s12187-024-10143-4. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Sonal Shukla or Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.springer.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.