1300.1.55.001 - Statistics News NSW, Mar 2007  
ARCHIVED ISSUE Released at 11:30 AM (CANBERRA TIME) 29/03/2007   
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INDIGENOUS COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT - SUMMARY BOOKLET OF FINDINGS

As part of the ABS' Indigenous Community Engagement strategy, the National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Survey (NATSIHS ) 2004-05: Summary booklet (cat. no. 4715.0.55.006) and posters will be available in March 2007 for distribution by ABS Indigenous Engagement Managers when they visit a community organisation or group. These summary booklets and posters present information in a short and concise format, so that they reach a broader range of Indigenous communities and organisations.

Focusing on national data, the summary booklet offers summarised information from the full NATSIHS 2004-05 publication (cat. no. 4715.0)

Findings mentioned in the summary booklet (and full publication) for Australia include:

  • Over three quarters (78%) of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people reported their health as either 'good', 'very good' or 'excellent', while 22% of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people reported their health as 'fair' or 'poor'.
  • Among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people aged 15 years and over, 11% had never visited a dentist or other health professional about their teeth. This proportion was 24% for Indigenous people in remote areas and 6% in non-remote areas.
  • Half of the adult Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander population (50%) reported smoking one or more cigarettes per day, on average.
  • The majority of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people aged 12 years and over reported eating vegetables (95%) and/or fruit (86%) daily.
  • Ear/hearing problems, including otitis media (middle ear infection) and hearing loss, were more than three times higher among Indigenous children (10%) than non-Indigenous children (3%).
  • Around one-third (32%) of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women aged 40 years and over reported regular mammograms, and just over half of those aged 18 years and over reported having had regular pap smear tests (52%).

In addition to the data for Australia, selected results for states are also available. For further information contact Indigenous Statistics on 1800 633 216, emailindigenous.statistics@abs.gov.au.