Health of Aboriginal children in Western Australia: Do grandparents matter?

Abstract

Abstract Background Studies of select populations (e.g. pre-industrial or subsistence farming populations) suggest that children with living maternal grandmothers (MGMs) had improved survival. It is unknown if this holds for child health more generally or in Australian Indigenous communities, where care of children is commonly shared by family members. We examined associations between the health of young Aboriginal Western Australians and their grandparents. Methods Birth, death, inpatient and emergency department records of Aboriginal infants born 2000-2013 in WA and their..