Indigenous health: patterns of variation in terms of disease categories.

While many studies investigated the higher morbidity and mortality levels of indigenous Australians in the high-density indigenous areas in the Northern Territory, Western Australia and South Australia, few examined the situation in New South Wales, where more than 28% of the indigenous population lives. Admissions to acute public and private hospitals in New South Wales for 1989-1995 are used in the study reported here to examine indigenous health and its differential patterns by disease categories. The study allowed for the monitoring of disease groups with particularly high indigenous admissions and, accordingly, pinpointed areas for improvement. Age-standardised estimates for the indigenous population are provided. Age composition of admissions for each disease category and admissions by residential area are also estimated.