« Endogenous versus Exogenous Origins of Crises by Didier Sornette | Start | Army Bullying Probe »

 

Poverty a Killer for Australian Children, Article in The Age

Hilarie Roseman kindly made us aware of the following article:

Poverty a killer for Australian children
By Janelle Miles
August 1, 2005
The Age

About 1500 Australian children aged 14 and under die each year because of socioeconomic disadvantage, researchers say.

Death rates among Australian children rise in association with worsening levels of disadvantage, the academics report in the latest Medical Journal of Australia.

In a combined literature review and opinion piece, Karen Zwi and Richard Henry, of the University of NSW, said despite Australia's material wealth, many indicators of health and wellbeing in children were discouraging.

For example, they said 15 per cent of four to 12-year-olds had emotional or behavioural problems and a third of deaths in children aged one to four were from preventable causes — such as drownings, car accidents and assaults.

"Preschoolers from low socioeconomic backgrounds are more likely to experience developmental delay, injuries and hospitalisations and are less likely to have been breastfed, to be fully immunised and to attend good quality child care," they wrote.

Advertisement
Advertisement"Adolescents from disadvantaged backgrounds are at higher risk of poor literacy, behaviour disorders, unwanted pregnancy and attempted suicide.

"It has been calculated that each year in Australia, 1500 deaths of children aged 0-14 years can be attributed to socioeconomic disadvantage."

Australian Bureau of Statistics figures show that suicide rates in young Australian men have quadrupled in the past 30 years.

The researchers said it appeared that adverse environments in early life, combined with a child's genetic and temperamental predisposition, brought biological changes that affected coping, resilience and health as an adult. "This creates some pressure on society to 'get it right', as children in adverse circumstances are being programmed in a way that sets patterns of health for later life," they wrote.

About 20 per cent of Australian children were deemed to have suffered poverty during 1995 to 1997, based on the most stringent definition.

The researchers said developing social capital — described as cohesion in communities, a sense of belonging and involvement in community affairs — might be a key way to improve a child's health outcomes.

"Social capital represents the degree to which people feel they can request assistance from their neighbours, allow their children to play outside in safety, and participate in community activities," they wrote. "Social capital results in independent improvements in health indicators: higher behavioural scores in children, reduced school drop-out rates, less criminality, and lower smoking rates among women.

"A systematic review of the qualitative evidence suggests that good family relationships, friendships and neighbourhood networks help to mitigate the impact of disadvantage on the wellbeing of children and young people."

The researchers suggested the marginalisation of certain groups, such as Aborigines and asylum seekers, might be undermining social capital.

"It has been argued that 'institutional racism' is inherent in our health services, and takes the form of inadequate funding … inequitable Medicare primary health care spending on indigenous groups, lack of access to Medicare for some asylum seekers and culturally insensitive health services," they said.

They have suggested early intervention and home visiting programs to improve child health outcomes.

Posted by Evelin at August 3, 2005 02:05 AM
Comments