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Comparing indigenous health status across regions: a numerical example of uncertainty
1Menzies School of Health Research, Casuarina, Northern Territory. joan.cunningham@menzies.edu.au
Objective:
To illustrate how regional variation in data quality could explain some or all of the apparent regional differences in the health status of Indigenous Australians.
Methods:
A series of simple hypothetical numerical examples is provided, with varying assumptions regarding the accuracy of identification of Indigenous deaths.
Results:
The apparent difference in Indigenous mortality in remote compared with urban areas is of a magnitude that could be explained by relatively modest regional differences in data quality.
Conclusion And Implications:
Determinations of relative health status within the Indigenous population must take into account the impact of variability in data quality.