Impact of perinatal health and socio-demographic factors on school education outcomes: a population study of Indigenous and non-Indigenous children in the Northern Territory

This study investigated the association between early-life risk factors and school education outcomes.This is an historical cohort study of 7601 children (61% were Indigenous) born in the Northern Territory between 1999 and 2004. Information was linked, for each child on: perinatal health, student enrolment and National Assessment Program - Literacy and Numeracy (NAPLAN) Year 3 results. Logistic regression was used to estimate the association between selected risk factors and a NAPLAN result 'below' the national minimum standard (NMS) in reading and numeracy.Indigenous children had much higher odds, than non-Indigenous children, of a result below the NMS for both reading (odds ratio (OR): 8.58, 95% confidence interval (CI): 7.55-9.74) ) and numeracy (OR: 11.52, 95% CI: 9.94-13.35). When adjusted for all other variables, the increased odds were attenuated for both reading (OR: 2.89, 95% CI: 2.46-3.40) and numeracy (OR: 3.19, 95% CI: 2.65-3.84). Common risk factors for Indigenous and non-Indigenous children included higher birth order, maternal smoking in pregnancy and being a boy. There were gradients of decreasing risk with increasing education level of primary care giver and increasing maternal age. Among Indigenous children only, risks increased when living in remote areas, with younger age (<8 years) and low birthweight.The study highlights that many of the risk factors associated with poor education outcomes among Indigenous children are shared with the general population. The results inform a targeted, cross-agency response to address modifiable early-life risk factors for educational disadvantage. Data linkage, using existing administrative datasets, provides a useful addition to methods that identify priority areas for prevention and early intervention.Steven Guthridge, Lin Li, Sven Silburn, Shu Qin Li, John McKenzie and John Lync

Getting there, being there, staying and belonging: A case study of two Indigenous Australian children's transition to school

Indigenous Australians are among the most unhealthy populations in the world and yet they reside in a country where the non-Indigenous population enjoys high standards of well-being. Education has been identified as the key mechanism for closing this equity gap. At school commencement many Indigenous children are already at risk of disengagement. This four-year longitudinal study of two Indigenous boys from a socially marginalised community examined key factors affecting transitional trajectories into school. While child characteristics affected level of achievement the critical factors in sustaining positive educational engagement were social support, school practices, inclusion of family and positive expectation

'Getting through the List': Judgecraft and legitimacy in the lower courts

Los Angeles, London, New Delhi and Singapor

Racism and health among urban Aboriginal young people

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Racism has been identified as an important determinant of health but few studies have explored associations between racism and health outcomes for Australian Aboriginal young people in urban areas.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Cross sectional data from participants aged 12-26 years in Wave 1 of the Victorian Aboriginal Health Service's Young People's Project were included in hierarchical logistic regression models. Overall mental health, depression and general health were all considered as outcomes with self-reported racism as the exposure, adjusting for a range of relevant confounders.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Racism was reported by a high proportion (52.3%) of participants in this study. Self-reported racism was significantly associated with poor overall mental health (OR 2.67, 95% CI 1.25-5.70, p = 0.01) and poor general health (OR 2.17, 95% CI 1.03-4.57, p = 0.04), and marginally associated with increased depression (OR 2.0; 95% CI 0.97-4.09, p = 0.06) in the multivariate models. Number of worries and number of friends were both found to be effect modifiers for the association between self-reported racism and overall mental health. Getting angry at racist remarks was found to mediate the relationship between self-reported racism and general health.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>This study highlights the need to acknowledge and address racism as an important determinant of health and wellbeing for Aboriginal young people in urban areas of Australia.</p