Changing associations of selected social determinants with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health & wellbeing, 2002 to 2012-13

Abstract

This report uses data from national health and social surveys of the Indigenous population, conducted between 2002 and 2012-13, to examine whether associations of some key social determinants with selected health and wellbeing outcomes changed over that time.

Consistently during the decade, employment status and housing tenure were significantly associated with a range of health and wellbeing outcomes for the Indigenous population.

As education levels have increased among the Indigenous population, the association of education with health and wellbeing has weakened. This suggests that at least some of the association of education with health and wellbeing is attributable to other characteristics of individuals or educational institutions not captured in our models, not just the outcome of the education process itself.

Improvements in some health and wellbeing outcomes in remote areas, despite declining employment over the decade, suggest that more detailed analysis is required to shed light on whether associations between the selected social determinants of health and wellbeing differ for Indigenous people living in remote and nonremote areas.