Post-neonatal mortality by rurality and Indigenous status in Queensland.
OBJECTIVE
To compare post-neonatal mortality among urban and rural Indigenous babies in Queensland.


METHODS
Registrations of deaths at ages 28 days to 12 months were linked to routine data from the Queensland Perinatal Data Collection.


RESULTS
Indigenous babies were 2.52 times more likely to die during the post-neonatal period than non-Indigenous babies (95% confidence interval: 1.99, 3.20). The differential remained when urban and rural areas were examined separately: the differential was 2.53 (1.81, 3.54) in urban areas and 2.26 (1.58, 3.23) in rural areas.


CONCLUSIONS
The key demographic variable that determines post-neonatal mortality in Queensland is Indigenous status, not rurality. This has important policy implications because it means that interventions to reduce the disparity in mortality between Indigenous and non-Indigenous babies should be delivered in urban as well as rural areas. Better routine data are needed and in particular clinical classification of deaths, so that interventions can be monitored and avoidable factors identified.
Coory
Michael
M
School of Population Health, University of Queensland, Herston, and Mater Mothers Hospital, Brisbane, Australia. m.coory@sph.uq.edu.au
Hockey
Richard
R
Flenady
Vicki
V
Woodgate
Paul
P
D002423:Cause of Death; D006801:Humans; D007226:Infant Mortality / Q000639:trends*; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D011793:Queensland; D012424:Rural Population; D014505:Urban Population