THE STRUCTURE OF THE AUSTRALIAN ABORIGINAL AND TORRES STRAIT ISLANDER HEALTH SURVEY

The 2012–13 Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Survey (AATSIHS) has three components:

• the National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Survey (NATSIHS)
• the National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Nutrition and Physical Activity Survey (NATSINPAS)
• the National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Measures Survey (NATSIHMS).

All Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people selected in the AATSIHS were respondents in either the NATSIHS or the NATSINPAS. A set of core information collected in both the NATSIHS and NATSINPAS is therefore available for all persons in the AATSIHS.

All Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people aged 18 years and over who were selected in either the NATSIHS or NATSINPAS were also invited to participate in the voluntary NATSIHMS component.

The following diagram shows how the various components combine to provide comprehensive health information for the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander population. The contents (and age of respondents by topic) for each component survey are listed below.


As indicated in the diagram, around 9,300 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people participated in the NATSIHS, answering questions about topics such as long-term health conditions and health risk factors, as well as topics in the core content, such as tobacco smoking and self-assessed health. The NATSIHS component of the 2012–13 AATSIHS interviewed about 1,000 fewer Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people than were surveyed in the 2004–05 NATSIHS. For core information collected in both the NATSIHS and NATSINPAS, the combined sample size (around 12,900 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people) is approximately 1.2 times the 2004–05 NATSIHS sample. However, the results are considered comparable.

For more information on the release schedule of AATSIHS products, see the Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Survey: Users' Guide, 2012-13 (cat. no. 4727.0.55.002) and the Australian Health Survey: Users' Guide, 2011-13 (cat. no. 4363.0.55.001).