Could Adequate and More Appropriate Housing for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander People in New South Wales, Australia, Reduce the Risk of Poorer Health Outcomes?

Indigenous Australians are estimated to be 3.7 times more likely to be living in overcrowded conditions and are more likely to have poorer health outcomes. To investigate correlations between housing, health, and age of death, we used univariant and multivariant linear regression methods to analyse data from the Public Health Information Development Unit for the 106 Indigenous areas within New South Wales. Our results indicate that for every 1% increase in crowded households in an Indigenous area, avoidable hospital admissions increased by 130 cases per 100,000 people. We conclude that this finding is consistent with the view that decreased overcrowding could improve the health of Aboriginal People in NSW. Increased housing availability could reduce the demand for health services, including public hospitals.