title: Town or country: which is best for Australia's Indigenous peoples?
abstract: Some commentators suggest that the poor health of Australia's Indigenous population is due to misguided ideology-driven policy that has forced people to live in remote communities, preventing them from benefiting from the mainstream economy. The evidence shows that the poor health status of Indigenous people is found in all areas where they live and that, on some indicators, living in remote areas has health benefits. Government policies aimed at relocating Indigenous people from their traditional lands are not supported by evidence, and may further entrench Indigenous disadvantage.
authors.affiliation: Discipline of Public Health, University of Adelaide, Adelaide, SA, Australia. david.scrimgeour@adelaide.edu.au
authors.forename: David
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Scrimgeour
mesh_terms: D001315:Australia / Q000453:epidemiology; D002908:Chronic Disease / Q000453:epidemiology; D003153:Community Health Services / Q000458:organization & administration; D006303:Health Services, Indigenous / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006304:Health Status; D006801:Humans; D008507:Medically Underserved Area; D012423:Rural Health; D012424:Rural Population / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D014504:Urban Health; D014505:Urban Population / Q000706:statistics & numerical data