4725.0 - Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Wellbeing: A focus on children and youth, Apr 2011  
ARCHIVED ISSUE Released at 11:30 AM (CANBERRA TIME) 23/05/2012  Reissue
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Contents >> Health >> Young people's access to health services


HEALTH: YOUNG PEOPLE'S ACCESS TO HEALTH SERVICES

This article is part of a comprehensive series released as Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Wellbeing: A focus on children and youth.


Note: In this section, the terms 'young people' or 'youth' refer to people aged 15–24 years. Data presented are from the ABS National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Survey, 2008 (cat. no. 4714.0).

KEY MESSAGES

Among all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander young people in 2008:
  • around one in five (19%) reported problems accessing one or more health services
  • the most commonly reported access difficulties were in relation to dentists (14%), doctors (7%), and hospitals (5%)
  • problems accessing health services were twice as common in remote areas as in non-remote areas (32% compared with 15%).

There is evidence that some Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples are not receiving health services when they need them or are accessing them late through hospitals and emergency departments (Endnote 1).

In 2008, around one in five (19% or 19,700) Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander young people reported problems accessing one or more health services. The services that young people most commonly had problems accessing were:
  • dentists (14%)
  • doctors (7%)
  • hospitals (5%).
For Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander young people, problems accessing health services were more than twice as common in remote areas as in non-remote areas (32% compared with 15%). This was particularly the case for dentists (23% compared with 12%) and hospitals (11% compared with 3%).

Among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander young people who had experienced access difficulties in 2008:
  • 41% said that waiting times were too long or a service was not available when needed
  • 39% reported that there were not enough services in their area
  • 34% reported problems with transport/distance to services
  • 33% said there were no services in their area
  • 32% said the cost of the service was a barrier.

Young people in non-remote areas were more likely than those in remote areas to report that waiting times were too long or a service was not available when needed (48% compared with 28%), and/or that the cost of the service was a barrier (43% compared with 14%). In contrast, young people in remote areas were more likely than those in non-remote areas to report insufficient services (50% compared with 32%) and/or no services (50% compared with 23%) in their local area.

4.1 BARRIERS TO ACCESSING HEALTH SERVICES BY REMOTENESS, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander youth aged 15–24 years—2008

Graph: Types of barriers to accessing health services by remotness, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people aged 15–24 years, 2008
(a) Difference between non-remote and remote areas is statistically significant.
(b) Difference between non-remote and remote areas is not statistically significant.
Source: 2008 National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Survey

ENDNOTES

1. Australian Health Ministers' Advisory Council, 2008, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health performance Framework 2008, AHMAC, Canberra. <www.health.gov.au>



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