Objective: To quantify the burden of disease and injury for the Aboriginal and non‐Aboriginal populations in the Northern Territory. Design and setting: Analysis of Northern Territory data for 1 January 1994 to 30 December 1998 from multiple sources. Main outcome measures: Disability‐adjusted life‐years (DALYs), by age, sex, cause and Aboriginality. Results: Cardiovascular disease was the leading contributor (14.9%) to the total burden of disease and injury in the NT, followed by mental disorders (14.5%) and malignant neoplasms (11.2%). There was also a substantial contribution from unintentional injury (10.4%) and intentional injury (4.9%). Overall, the NT Aboriginal population had a rate of burden of disease 2.5 times higher than the non‐Aboriginal population; in the 35–54‐year age group their DALY rate was 4.1 times higher. The leading causes of disease burden were cardiovascular disease for both Aboriginal men (19.1%) and women (15.7%) and mental disorders for both non‐Aboriginal men (16.7%) and women (22.3%). Conclusions: A comprehensive assessment of fatal and non‐fatal conditions is important in describing differentials in health status of the NT population. Our study provides comparative data to identify health priorities and facilitate a more equitable distribution of health funding.

Objectives: To analyse rates of avoidable hospitalisations in Aboriginal and non‐Aboriginal residents of the Northern Territory, 1998–99 to 2005–06, and to consider the implications for primary care interventions. Design and setting: Retrospective descriptive analysis of inpatient discharge data from NT public hospitals. Main outcome measures: Avoidable hospitalisations by age, sex, Aboriginality and condition, with annual time trends. Results: Between 1998–99 and 2005–06, Aboriginal people in the NT had an avoidable hospitalisation rate of 11 090 per 100 000 population, nearly four times higher than the Australian rate of 2848 per 100 000. The rate for non‐Aboriginal NT residents was 2779 per 100 000. During this period, the average annual increase in avoidable hospitalisations was 11.6% (95% CI, 11.0%–12.1%) in the NT Aboriginal population and 3.9% (95% CI, 3.3%–4.5%) in the non‐Aboriginal population. The greatest increase occurred in those aged ≥ 45 years, and was primarily attributable to diabetes complications. Conclusions: The significantly higher rates of avoidable hospitalisations in NT Aboriginal people reflect the emerging epidemic of chronic disease in this population, highlight barriers to Aboriginal people accessing effective primary care, and emphasise the extent of potential health gains with appropriate interventions.

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