Measures of socioeconomic participation such as employment and education are prominent in the Australian Government’s ‘Closing the Gap’ policy–the importance of these characteristics to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health and wellbeing is well-established. Other aspects of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people's social environment, including cultural attachment and racism, are also related to their health and wellbeing. These relationships are complex and can vary in remote, regional and metropolitan areas.
The 2012-13 Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Survey (AATSIHS) provides an opportunity to explore relationships between these different types of social determinants. As part of the 2012-13 AATSIHS, information was collected from a sample of about 9,300 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples of all ages living in both remote and non-remote areas. In addition to information about individual health conditions, behaviours and risk factors, the survey includes measures of social and emotional wellbeing, cultural identity and participation, experience of racism and socioeconomic characteristics.
The analysis presented here will use multivariate analyses of the AATSIHS 2012-13 to explore whether the associations between some social determinants of health and wellbeing differ for those living in remote, regional and metropolitan Australia.