A cross-sectional survey of environmental health in remote Aboriginal communities in Western Australia

Introduction: The Australian Aboriginal population experiences significantly poorer health than the non-Aboriginal population. The contribution of environmental risk factors in remote communities to this health disparity is poorly understood.

Objective: To describe and quantify major environmental risk factors and associated health outcomes in remote Aboriginal communities in Western Australia.

Methods: The association between environmental health indicators, community infrastructure and reported health outcomes was analysed using linear and logistic regression of survey data.

Results: Housing/overcrowding was significantly associated with increased reports of hearing/eyesight (OR 3.01 95 % CI 1.58–5.73), skin (OR 2.71 95 % CI 1.31–5.60), gastrointestinal (OR 3.51 95 % CI 1.49–8.26) and flu/colds (OR 2.47 95 % CI 1.27–4.78) as health concerns. Dust was significantly associated with hearing/eyesight (OR 3.16 95 % CI 1.82–5.48), asthma/respiratory (OR 2.48 95 % CI 1.43–4.29) and flu/colds (OR 3.31 95 % CI 1.88–5.86) as health concerns.

Conclusion: Poor environmental health is prevalent in remote Aboriginal communities and requires further delineation to inform environmental health policy.