• Katherine Thurber, Leonie Burgess, Kathleen Falster, Emily Banks, Holger Möller, Rebecca Ivers, Chris Cowell, Vivian Isaac, Deanna Kalucy, Peter Fernando, Cheryl Woodall, and Kathleen Clapham.
• National Centre for Epidemiology and Population Health, Research School of Population Health, The Australian National University, Australian Capital Territory.
• Aust N Z J Public Health. 2018 Apr 1; 42 (2): 157-165.

ObjectiveDespite being disproportionately affected by injury, little is known about factors associated with injury in Aboriginal children. We investigated factors associated with injury among urban Aboriginal children attending four Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Services in New South Wales, Australia.MethodsWe examined characteristics of caregiver-reported child injury, and calculated prevalence ratios of 'ever-injury' by child, family, and environmental factors.ResultsAmong children in the cohort, 29% (n=373/1,303) had ever broken a bone, been knocked out, required stitches or been hospitalised for a burn or poisoning; 40-78% of first injuries occurred at home and 60-91% were treated in hospital. Reported ever-injury was significantly lower (prevalence ratio ≤0.80) among children who were female, younger, whose caregiver had low psychological distress and had not been imprisoned, whose family experienced few major life events, and who hadn't experienced alcohol misuse in the household or theft in the community, compared to other cohort members.ConclusionsIn this urban Aboriginal child cohort, injury was common and associated with measures of family and community vulnerability. Implications for public health: Prevention efforts targeting upstream injury determinants and Aboriginal children living in vulnerable families may reduce child injury. Existing broad-based intervention programs for vulnerable families may present opportunities to deliver targeted injury prevention.© 2017 The Authors.

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