This article is part of a comprehensive series released as The Health and Welfare of Australia's Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples.
Nationally, 50% of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people aged 15 years and over had a disability or long-term health condition in 2008. Around one in twelve (8%) had a profound/severe core activity limitation.
In non-remote areas, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander adults were one and a half times as likely as non-Indigenous adults to have a disability or long-term health condition, and more than twice as likely to have a profound/severe core activity limitation.
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people with a disability were more than four times as likely as those without a disability to rate their health as fair/poor.
Half (50%) of all people with a disability or long-term health condition were receiving a government pension or allowance as their principal source of income in 2008.
36% of people with a disability had problems accessing services, such as doctors, hospitals or employment services, compared with 24% of those without a disability.
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians experience higher rates of disability and long-term health conditions than do other Australians. Disability can affect people in a number of life areas, including the capacity to go to school, work and earn an income, and to participate in everyday activities.
This article provides a range of information on disability status of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, drawing on data from the 2008 National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Survey (NATSISS). Topics covered in this article include:
Measuring disability
Prevalence of disability
Disability and other health characteristics
Disability and socioeconomic characteristics
Disability and social inclusion
Disability: Torres Strait Islander people
This page last updated 16 February 2011
Source:http://www.abs.gov.au/AUSSTATS/abs@.nsf/lookup/4704.0Chapter500Oct+2010
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