Australia's children: their health and wellbeing 2002

This report brings together information from a wide range of state / territory and commonwealth sources to reveal a national picture of the health status of Australian children. It attempts to integrate the social and environmental determinants of health, with the outcomes in terms of health status. The report contains demographic information about children; provides an overview of mortality, morbidity, disability and burden of disease for children aged 0-14 years; provides information on various aspects of 'health status' - maternal, perinatal and infant conditions; vaccine preventable and other communicable diseases; chronic diseases; oral health; and injury. It examines 'risk and protective factors in the areas of 'family environment' and 'biological and behavioural factors', and also examines health services. Throughout the report and for every indicator, data are presented for children under 15 years in the population, with further subdivision into infants (children aged less than 1 year), and children aged 1-4, 5-9 and 10-14 years. Wherever possible, boys are distinguished from girls, and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children from other Australian children, and distinctions are made between children who live in metropolitan, rural and remote areas.