Health of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children and their grandparents: a Western Australian retrospective cohort study

Abstract

Background: In Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities, childcare is traditionally shared by kin. Little is known about how grandparental care impacts Aboriginal child health and evidence from other countries is mixed. We explored relationships between grandparental health (a proxy for grandparental care) and health and health service use by Aboriginal children born in Western Australia from 2000 to 2013. Methods: This is a retrospective cohort study using linked administrative health data. Outcomes were child mortality, hospital admissions, and emergency department (ED) presentations up to five years old. Grandparental health when the child was born was categorised as h..