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The Health Status of Indigenous and Non-Indigenous Australians

Author

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  • Booth, Alison L.

    (Australian National University)

  • Carroll, Nick

    (affiliation not available)

Abstract

We use unique survey data to examine the determinants of self-assessed health of Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians. We explore the degree to which differences in health are due to differences in socio-economic factors, and examine the sensitivity of our results to the inclusion of ‘objective’ health measures. Our results reveal that there is a significant gap in the health status of Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians, with the former characterised by significantly worse health. These findings are robust to alternative estimation methods and measures of health. Although between one third and one half of the health gap can be explained by differences in socio-economic status - such as income, employment status and education - there remains a large unexplained component. These findings have important policy implications. They suggest that, in order to reduce the gap in health status between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians, it is important to address disparities in socio-economic factors such as education. The findings also suggest that there are disparities in access to health services and in health behaviour. These issues need to be tackled before Australia can truly claim to have 100% health-care coverage and high levels of health and life expectancy for all of its population.

Suggested Citation

  • Booth, Alison L. & Carroll, Nick, 2005. "The Health Status of Indigenous and Non-Indigenous Australians," IZA Discussion Papers 1534, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    • Handle: RePEc:iza:izadps:dp1534
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Sibthorpe, B. & Anderson, I. & Cunningham, J., 2001. "Self-assessed health among indigenous Australians: How valid is a global question?," American Journal of Public Health, American Public Health Association, vol. 91(10), pages 1660-1663.
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    3. Currie, Alison & Shields, Michael A. & Wheatley Price, Stephen, 2004. "Is the Child Health / Family Income Gradient Universal? Evidence from England," IZA Discussion Papers 1328, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
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    6. Cooper, Helen, 2002. "Investigating socio-economic explanations for gender and ethnic inequalities in health," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 54(5), pages 693-706, March.
    7. Crossley, Thomas F. & Kennedy, Steven, 2002. "The reliability of self-assessed health status," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 21(4), pages 643-658, July.
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    Cited by:

    1. Waterworth, Pippa & Rosenberg, Michael & Braham, Rebecca & Pescud, Melanie & Dimmock, James, 2014. "The effect of social support on the health of Indigenous Australians in a metropolitan community," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 119(C), pages 139-146.
    2. Jenny Brands & Gail Garvey & Kate Anderson & Joan Cunningham & Jennifer Chynoweth & Isabella Wallington & Bronwyn Morris & Vikki Knott & Samantha Webster & Lauren Kinsella & John Condon & Helen Zorbas, 2018. "Development of a National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Cancer Framework: A Shared Process to Guide Effective Policy and Practice," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 15(5), pages 1-16, May.
    3. Pita Barros, Pedro & Medalho Pereira, Isabel, 2009. "Health Care and Health Outcomes of Migrants: Evidence from Portugal," MPRA Paper 18201, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    4. Alison Booth & Nick Carroll, 2005. "Overcrowding and Indigenous Health in Australia," CEPR Discussion Papers 498, Centre for Economic Policy Research, Research School of Economics, Australian National University.
    5. Benjamin J. Stephens, 2010. "The Determinants of Labour Force Status among Indigenous Australians," Australian Journal of Labour Economics (AJLE), Bankwest Curtin Economics Centre (BCEC), Curtin Business School, vol. 13(3), pages 287-312.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Indigenous health; self-assessed health;

    JEL classification:

    • I1 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Health
    • I12 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Health - - - Health Behavior

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