Differences in physician utilization between Aboriginal and non-Aboriginalchildren

Objective. In the present study, we examined the factors affecting Aborigin al children's visits to a medical practitioner and compared them with non-A boriginal children. Methods. We selected five Aboriginal communities and four neighbouring non- Aboriginal communities, and conducted a door-to-door survey, covering all c hildren born after 1983. Of an initial sample of 1013 children, 896 (respon se rate 89.92% for non-Aboriginal children and 85.87% for Aboriginal childr en) completed the questionnaire for analysis. Results. In all, 896 children of non-mixed lineage with an age range of 0-1 2 years were collected into the study, including 316 Aborigines and 580 non -Aborigines. A higher percentage of non-Aboriginal children had more nation al health insurance coverage than Aboriginal children. The-ratio of parents using the services of an out of community medical practitioner when their children were sick was higher for Aboriginal parents than for non-Aborigine s. Medical injection frequency was higher in Aboriginal children. Linear re gression was used to examine the factors affecting the frequency of physici an utilization in the preceding month. Conclusion. A lower national health insurance coverage rate, and a higher r ate of intramuscular injections for Aboriginal children plus difficulties i n access to medical resources due to travel time and travel distance are st ill major problems for the Aborigines.