Are we closing the Aboriginal child injury gap? A cohort study

OBJECTIVE: To assess if rates of hospitalised injury in Australian Aboriginal children, and differences in these rates between Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal children, have changed over time. METHODS: We used linked hospital data for New South Wales (NSW), Australia, to construct cohorts of children born in NSW hospitals between 2003-2007 and 2008-2012. We calculated rates of hospitalised injuries per 10,000 person years for Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal children for both cohorts, and compared these using rate differences and rate ratios. RESULTS: Rates of unintentional injury hospitalisation were similar in Aboriginal children in both cohorts and Aboriginal children had 1.7 times higher rates of unintentional injury hospitalisation compared with non-Aboriginal children. Rate ratios between Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal children for leading injury mechanisms, burns, poisonings and transport were similar in both cohorts, with 2.5, 3.0 and 2.4 times higher rates in Aboriginal children in the 2008-2012 cohort, respectively. Conclusions and Implications for public health: Our findings suggest that current injury prevention measures have not been successful in reducing either rates of unintentional injury in Aboriginal children, or injury inequalities between Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal children. We recommend the implementation of targeted Aboriginal led injury prevention measures.