Identification of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women using an urban obstetric hospital.

OBJECTIVES To determine the accuracy of routine identification of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women confining at King George V (KGV) Hospital, located in Sydney, Australia. DESIGN Interviewer-administered survey. PARTICIPANTS Consecutive sample of women who delivered live, well infants from May to July 1999. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE Comparison of hospital documentation compared with confidential self-disclosure of Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander status to a female Aboriginal health professional. RESULTS Of 536 women in our sample, 29 (5%) self-disclosed as being Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander. Only 10 of these were identified as Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander in hospital records (p<0.001). While specificity as determined by us was 100%, sensitivity was low (34.5%). Those Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women referred by another organisation were significantly more likely than those who self-referred to the hospital to be correctly identified (p=0.011). Only 1% of non-Aboriginal women indicated they would have objected to an explicit question by staff about their Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander status. CONCLUSIONS Routine identification significantly under-represents Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander women giving birth at an urban obstetric hospital. We recommend the development and use of a sensitive but also specific series of questions to ensure women always are given the opportunity to disclose their status, especially as few women appear to mind such questions.