May 01, 2016
Low incomes slowing health change
Gains in some health areas but a lot of work to do where bad health is caused by social inequity.
That’s the conclusion of a new report from the University of Otago’s Child and Youth Epidemiology Service.
Director Dr Jean Simpson says the report is a snapshot of what is being done to address things like child poverty, poor housing, early childhood education, tobacco use, alcohol related harm, and children’s exposure to family violence.
Maori (and Pacific) children nearly twice as likely as Pakeha children to grow up in households experiencing significant hardships.
The number of tamariki Maori who have participated in early childhood education before entering school is now 96.3 percent.
Hospitalisation rates of Maori children aged up to 14 for injuries arising from assault, neglect or maltreatment declined from 40.2 per 100,000 in 2008-09 to 25.2 in 2012-2013, with the most at risk from assault being Maori children under 1.
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