What’s in a label: social factors and health issues for a small group of Aboriginal people born in Brisbane, Australia

Abstract

The health disparity between Aboriginal people and other Australians is well documented.However, little is known how this is experienced over the life course in an urban setting. This study explores the social determinants of health and wellbeing over the early life course among a small group of Aboriginal people living in an urban setting. This was done in two parts: first, by statistically analysing differences in social risk factors between Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal people who were part of the longitudinal birth cohort study, the Mater-University Study of This thesis highlights the following challenges regarding the nexus between identity and health: a) identity is not easy to measure or define, and changes over time and space; b) not all people experience identity in the same way, even if they have been labelled under the same identity category; and c) identity plays a significant role in people's wellbeing narratives, even if this differs to the way it is represented by public health research. These points represent important considerations for any future epidemiological studies that use identity categories to determine health disparities. These findings suggest the need for more nuanced understanding of Aboriginal identities within public health, and also bring into question the use of Aboriginal status as an epidemiological variable more broadly.ii Declaration by authorThis thesis is composed of my original work, and contains no material previously published or written by another person except where due reference has been made in the text. I have clearly stated the contribution by others to jointly-authored works that I have included in my thesis.