Abstract
IntroductionAboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children have higher rates of disability than non-Indigenous children and are considered doubly disadvantaged, yet there is very little data reflecting prevalence and service access to inform design and delivery of services. Failing to address physical, social, and psychological factors can have life-long consequences and perpetuate longstanding health disparities.MethodsA narrative literature review was undertaken to identify peer reviewed literature describing factors impacting on the prevention, recognition, and access to support and management of disability in Indigenous Australian children.ResultsTwenty-seven peer-reviewed journal articles met inclusion criteria. The majority of articles focused on the hearing loss and learning disabilities consequent of otitis media. Few articles reported data on urban or metropolitan Indigenous populations or described interventions. Individual/community-, provider-, and systems level factors were identified as impacting on recognition and management of disability in young Indigenous children.ConclusionsGiven the burden of childhood disability, the limited literature retrieved is concerning as this is a barometer of activity and investment. Solutions addressing childhood disability will require collaboration between health, social and educational disciplines as well as an increased investment in prevention, identification and promotion of access.
Highlights
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children have higher rates of disability than non-Indigenous children and are considered doubly disadvantaged, yet there is very little data reflecting prevalence and service access to inform design and delivery of services
The literature search resulted in 189 peer-reviewed articles reporting both empirical studies and theoretical articles
This was apparent in the current review as well as in a recent analysis of descriptive studies describing the health, development, wellbeing of Indigenous children which found that research predominantly addressed physical health (75.1%), health determinants (27.6%), and mental health and wellbeing (2.8%) [50]
Summary
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children have higher rates of disability than non-Indigenous children and are considered doubly disadvantaged, yet there is very little data reflecting prevalence and service access to inform design and delivery of services. Social, and psychological factors can have life-long consequences and perpetuate longstanding health disparities. Indigenous children with a disability are considered ‘doubly disadvantaged’, and failing to address physical, social and psychological factors can have life-long consequences [4,5]. Indigenous adults are 11⁄2 times more likely than non-Indigenous Australians to have a disability or long-term health condition, more than 3 times as likely to have an intellectual disability, and more than twice as likely to require support meeting self-care, communication or mobility needs [7,8]. Other studies have identified lower scores on performance and development in young Indigenous children as compared to nonIndigenous children [12,13]
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