Reducing indigenous mortality in Australia: lessons from other countries

Mortality rates from all causes in Maoris in New Zealand and Native Americans have fallen substantially since the early 1970s. Comparable mortality rates for Australian Aboriginals and Torres Strait Islanders in 1990–1994 were at or above the rates observed 20 years ago in Maoris and Native American...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Medical journal of Australia 1998-11, Vol.169 (10), p.528-533
Main Authors: Ring, Ian T, Firman, David
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Australia - epidemiology
Biological and medical sciences
Cardiovascular Diseases - mortality
General aspects
Humans
Indians, North American - statistics & numerical data
Lung Diseases - mortality
Medical sciences
Mortality - trends
New Zealand - epidemiology
Planification. Prevention (methods). Intervention. Evaluation
Poisson Distribution
Population Surveillance
Public health. Hygiene
Public health. Hygiene-occupational medicine
United States - epidemiology
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Summary:Mortality rates from all causes in Maoris in New Zealand and Native Americans have fallen substantially since the early 1970s. Comparable mortality rates for Australian Aboriginals and Torres Strait Islanders in 1990–1994 were at or above the rates observed 20 years ago in Maoris and Native Americans, being 1.9 times the rate in Maoris, 2.4 times the rate in Native Americans, and 3.2 times the rate for all Australians. Circulatory diseases, respiratory diseases, injuries and endocrine diseases (mostly diabetes) are responsible for almost 70% of these excess deaths. Mortality rate trends in indigenous populations in other countries suggest the feasibility of substantial and rapid reductions in mortality rates of Australia's indigenous people.
ISSN:0025-729X
1326-5377
DOI:10.5694/j.1326-5377.1998.tb123400.x