Volume 192 - Issue 2
Patterns of mortality in Indigenous adults in the Northern Territory, 1998–2003
Author: David J Scrimgeour
Med J Aust 2010; 192 (2): 110-111. || doi: 10.5694/j.1326-5377.2010.tb03439.x
Published online: 18 January 2010
Published online: 18 January 2010
To the Editor: In a recent letter by Kowal,1 reference was made to my previous letter2 commenting on an article by Andreasyan and Hoy.3 Kowal questions my suggestion that Andreasyan and Hoy’s work adds evidence to the body of work indicating the health benefits for Indigenous Australians of living in small remote communities. She then suggests that “rather than jumping the gun, we need more research into the effects of outstation life on health and wellbeing”. I think Kowal misses the point.
I did not refer to “outstations”. I wrote of the many remote Indigenous communities, most of which have been established in the past 40 or so years, not all of which are called “outstations”. These communities now have their survival threatened by current government policies that support a few selected larger communities at the expense of many smaller communities. The evidence provided by Andreasyan and Hoy, building on other work, does not support policies that are likely to lead to a drift of people away from their homelands to large centralised settlements and the fringes of towns and cities. While the research evidence is not overwhelming, on balance there appears to be more evidence suggesting health benefits from helping people remain on their traditional lands than evidence to support policies that encourage them to migrate to larger settlements and towns.
Kowal accuses those who cite this evidence, such as Tom Calma and myself, as jumping the gun. I suggest it is governments that are jumping the gun in imposing policies that are not evidence-based. While there is a need for more research and for careful scrutiny of the research, as undertaken appropriately by Zhao and colleagues,4 the evidence definitely points to concerns that current government policies may have a significant detrimental effect on Indigenous people.
References
- Kowal E. Patterns of mortality in Indigenous adults in the Northern Territory, 1998–2003 [letter]. Med J Aust 2009; 191: 581-582. 0_CBBCDFHG
- Scrimgeour D. Patterns of mortality in Indigenous adults in the Northern Territory, 1998–2003: are people living in remote areas worse off [letter]? Med J Aust 2009; 190: 545. 0_CBBJBJEB
- Andreasyan K, Hoy W. Patterns of mortality in Indigenous adults in the Northern Territory 1998-2003: are people living in remote areas worse off? Med J Aust 2009; 190: 307-311. 0_i1091856
- Zhao Y, Guthridge S, Li S, Connors C. Patterns of mortality in Indigenous adults in the Northern Territory, 1998-2003 [letter]. Med J Aust 2009; 191: 581-582. 0_i1091858