Inequalities in pediatric avoidable hospitalizations between Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal children in Australia: a population data linkage study

Table 1 Characteristics and person years of follow-up time (2000–2013) for Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal children in a population cohort born between July 2000 and December 2012 in New South Wales, Australia

	Non-Aboriginal			Aboriginal
	N	%	Person years	N	%	Person years
Total	1,085,831	100	7,681,406	35,609	100	223,190
Birth year
Jul 2000–Dec 2004	367,542	34	4,125,434	9,047	25	100,296
Jan 2005–Dec 2008	353,945	33	2,466,933	11,607	33	79,332
Jan 2009–Dec 2012	364,344	34	1,089,040	14,955	42	43,562
Contribution of follow-up to age group^a
Less than 2 years	-	-	2,123,515	-	-	68,971
2–4 years	-	-	1,802,906	-	-	55,189
4–6 years	-	-	1,440,318	-	-	41,123
6–8 years	-	-	1,081,702	-	-	28,451
8–10 years	-	-	736,009	-	-	18,066
10–12 years	-	-	406,279	-	-	9,431
12–13 years	-	-	90,678	-	-	1,959
Sex
Female	527,500	49	3,729,845	17,251	48	108,591
Male	558,331	51	3,951,561	18,358	52	114,599
Low birth weight and/or premature birth
No	1,017,508	94	7,212,029	32,039	90	201,599
Yes	68,323	6	469,377	3,570	10	21,591
Private patient and/or health insurance
No	702,362	65	5,049,008	34,531	97	217,477
Yes	383,469	35	2,632,399	1,078	3	5,713
Geographical remoteness
Major city	730,967	67	5,105,713	10,238	29	64,754
Inner regional	262,887	24	1,899,768	13,231	37	79,583
Outer regional	84,425	8	617,719	8,837	25	56,053
Remote/Very remote	7,552	1	58,205	3,303	9	22,800
Area-level socio-economic disadvantage^b
First quintile (Most disadvantaged)	199,716	18	1,443,310	16,719	47	107,615
Second quintile	235,069	22	1,669,550	9,746	27	59,739
Third quintile	219,196	20	1,560,849	6,210	17	37,857
Fourth quintile	225,527	21	1,569,176	2,344	7	14,415
Fifth quintile (Least disadvantaged)	206,323	19	1,438,522	590	2	3,564

^aChildren contribute person years of follow-up from the date they are 29 days old until their death or the end of the study period (December 31, 2013). Many of the children contribute person years of follow-up to more than one age group during the study period; ^bSocio-economic indices for Areas (SEIFA) Index of Relative Socio-Economic Advantage and Disadvantage based on the child’s statistical local area of residence at birth

ISSN: 1471-2431