'Lifestyle' Diseases Among Indigenous - Too High
A study in the latest issue of the Medical Journal of Australia indicates that the infrastructure in many Indigenous Australian households is not functional.
The study, by Associate Professor of Public Health, Ross Bailie, Menzies School of Health Research and Flinders University Northern Territory Clinical School, Darwin and Research Scientist, Dr Myfanwy Runcie, CSIRO, Canberra was guided by a defining set of "healthy living practices" to evaluate the state of household infrastructure present in Aboriginal communities in the Northern Territory (NT).
Dr Bailie's findings support earlier Australian studies, which describe the inadequacy of Aboriginal housing and the association between the poor living environment and health among the Indigenous population.
"The proportion of houses that had functioning infrastructure for conducting each of the healthy living practices varied widely between communities.
"For some healthy living practices, none of the surveyed houses had the required infrastructure functioning," says Dr Bailie.
The Indigenous Housing Authority of the Northern Territory (IHANT) is responsible for ensuring a coherent housing strategy, with a specific mandate to facilitate planning and allocation of housing programs among the Indigenous community.
Nearly 4000 houses, 79% of all houses funded by IHANT, were surveyed. Components most identified as not functional or not even present were the kitchen bench, the stove-top and the oven.
Facilities required for personal hygiene and safe removal of human waste were reported as not functional in up to 46% of houses.
Dr Bailie says providing sound household infrastructure is important for improving the poor state of health among Indigenous people, as is providing a secure and good-quality food supply, and encouraging good hygienic and dietary behaviour.
While current infrastructure projects can be expected to contribute to improvements in healthcare, projections indicate that there will be significant unmet need for many years.
Dr Bailie concluded by saying, "Many more resources need to be committed if such projects are to influence health at the wider population level in the near future."