Prevalence of Everyday Discrimination and Relation with Wellbeing among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Adults in Australia
Discrimination is a fundamental determinant of health and health inequities. However, despite the high prevalence of discrimination exposure, there is limited evidence specific to Indigenous populations on the link between discrimination and health. This study employs a validated measure to quantify...
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doaj-427a83db66d54d0789a56915475eef732021-07-01T00:34:52ZengMDPI AGInternational Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health1661-78271660-46012021-06-01186577657710.3390/ijerph18126577Prevalence of Everyday Discrimination and Relation with Wellbeing among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Adults in AustraliaKatherine A. Thurber0Emily Colonna1Roxanne Jones2Gilbert C. Gee3Naomi Priest4Rubijayne Cohen5David R. Williams6Joanne Thandrayen7Tom Calma8Raymond Lovett9on behalf of the Mayi Kuwayu Study TeamNational Centre for Epidemiology and Population Health, Australian National University, Canberra, ACT 2600, AustraliaNational Centre for Epidemiology and Population Health, Australian National University, Canberra, ACT 2600, AustraliaNational Centre for Epidemiology and Population Health, Australian National University, Canberra, ACT 2600, AustraliaDepartment of Community Health Sciences, Fielding School of Public Health, University of California, Los Angeles, CA 90024, USACentre for Social Research and Methods, College of Arts and Social Sciences, Australian National University, Canberra, ACT 2600, AustraliaNational Centre for Epidemiology and Population Health, Australian National University, Canberra, ACT 2600, AustraliaDepartment of Social and Behavioral Sciences, Harvard T. H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, MA 02115, USANational Centre for Epidemiology and Population Health, Australian National University, Canberra, ACT 2600, AustraliaPoche Indigenous Health Network New South Wales, University of Sydney, Camperdown, NSW 2006, AustraliaNational Centre for Epidemiology and Population Health, Australian National University, Canberra, ACT 2600, AustraliaDiscrimination is a fundamental determinant of health and health inequities. However, despite the high prevalence of discrimination exposure, there is limited evidence specific to Indigenous populations on the link between discrimination and health. This study employs a validated measure to quantify experiences of everyday discrimination in a national sample of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander (Australia’s Indigenous peoples) adults surveyed from 2018 to 2020 (≥16 years, <i>n</i> = 8108). It quantifies Prevalence Ratios (PRs) and 95% Confidence Intervals (CIs) for wellbeing outcomes by level of discrimination exposure, and tests if associations vary by attribution of discrimination to Indigeneity. Of the participants, 41.5% reported no discrimination, 47.5% low, and 11.0% moderate-high. Discrimination was more commonly reported by younger versus older participants, females versus males, and those living in remote versus urban or regional areas. Discrimination was significantly associated in a dose-response manner, with measures of social and emotional wellbeing, culture and identity, health behaviour, and health outcomes. The strength of the association varied across outcomes, from a 10–20% increased prevalence for some outcomes (e.g., disconnection from culture (PR = 1.08; 95% CI: 1.03, 1.14), and high blood pressure (1.20; 1.09, 1.32)), to a five-fold prevalence of alcohol dependence (4.96; 3.64, 6.76), for those with moderate-high versus no discrimination exposure. The association was of consistent strength and direction whether attributed to Indigeneity or not—with three exceptions. Discrimination is associated with a broad range of poor wellbeing outcomes in this large-scale, national, diverse cohort of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander adults. These findings support the vast potential to improve Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples’ wellbeing, and to reduce Indigenous-non-Indigenous inequities, by reducing exposure to discrimination.https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/18/12/6577racismindigenous peopleshealth inequalitiessocial epidemiologysocial determinants of healthAustralia |
collection |
DOAJ |
language |
English |
format |
Article |
sources |
DOAJ |
author |
Katherine A. Thurber Emily Colonna Roxanne Jones Gilbert C. Gee Naomi Priest Rubijayne Cohen David R. Williams Joanne Thandrayen Tom Calma Raymond Lovett on behalf of the Mayi Kuwayu Study Team |
spellingShingle |
Katherine A. Thurber Emily Colonna Roxanne Jones Gilbert C. Gee Naomi Priest Rubijayne Cohen David R. Williams Joanne Thandrayen Tom Calma Raymond Lovett on behalf of the Mayi Kuwayu Study Team Prevalence of Everyday Discrimination and Relation with Wellbeing among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Adults in Australia International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health racism indigenous peoples health inequalities social epidemiology social determinants of health Australia |
author_facet |
Katherine A. Thurber Emily Colonna Roxanne Jones Gilbert C. Gee Naomi Priest Rubijayne Cohen David R. Williams Joanne Thandrayen Tom Calma Raymond Lovett on behalf of the Mayi Kuwayu Study Team |
author_sort |
Katherine A. Thurber |
title |
Prevalence of Everyday Discrimination and Relation with Wellbeing among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Adults in Australia |
title_short |
Prevalence of Everyday Discrimination and Relation with Wellbeing among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Adults in Australia |
title_full |
Prevalence of Everyday Discrimination and Relation with Wellbeing among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Adults in Australia |
title_fullStr |
Prevalence of Everyday Discrimination and Relation with Wellbeing among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Adults in Australia |
title_full_unstemmed |
Prevalence of Everyday Discrimination and Relation with Wellbeing among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Adults in Australia |
title_sort |
prevalence of everyday discrimination and relation with wellbeing among aboriginal and torres strait islander adults in australia |
publisher |
MDPI AG |
series |
International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health |
issn |
1661-7827 1660-4601 |
publishDate |
2021-06-01 |
description |
Discrimination is a fundamental determinant of health and health inequities. However, despite the high prevalence of discrimination exposure, there is limited evidence specific to Indigenous populations on the link between discrimination and health. This study employs a validated measure to quantify experiences of everyday discrimination in a national sample of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander (Australia’s Indigenous peoples) adults surveyed from 2018 to 2020 (≥16 years, <i>n</i> = 8108). It quantifies Prevalence Ratios (PRs) and 95% Confidence Intervals (CIs) for wellbeing outcomes by level of discrimination exposure, and tests if associations vary by attribution of discrimination to Indigeneity. Of the participants, 41.5% reported no discrimination, 47.5% low, and 11.0% moderate-high. Discrimination was more commonly reported by younger versus older participants, females versus males, and those living in remote versus urban or regional areas. Discrimination was significantly associated in a dose-response manner, with measures of social and emotional wellbeing, culture and identity, health behaviour, and health outcomes. The strength of the association varied across outcomes, from a 10–20% increased prevalence for some outcomes (e.g., disconnection from culture (PR = 1.08; 95% CI: 1.03, 1.14), and high blood pressure (1.20; 1.09, 1.32)), to a five-fold prevalence of alcohol dependence (4.96; 3.64, 6.76), for those with moderate-high versus no discrimination exposure. The association was of consistent strength and direction whether attributed to Indigeneity or not—with three exceptions. Discrimination is associated with a broad range of poor wellbeing outcomes in this large-scale, national, diverse cohort of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander adults. These findings support the vast potential to improve Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples’ wellbeing, and to reduce Indigenous-non-Indigenous inequities, by reducing exposure to discrimination. |
topic |
racism indigenous peoples health inequalities social epidemiology social determinants of health Australia |
url |
https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/18/12/6577 |
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