• Jesia G Berry, James E Harrison, and Philip Ryan.
• Discipline of Public Health, University of Adelaide, South Australia, Australia. jesia.berry@adelaide.edu.au
• Aust N Z J Public Health. 2009 Jun 1;33(3):215-22.

ObjectiveTo compare the incidence of injury-related hospitalisations and the injury profiles for interpersonal violence, in the Indigenous and non-Indigenous populations of Australia.MethodDescriptive analysis of the National Hospital Morbidity Database (NHMD), using data for the Northern Territory, Western Australia, South Australia and Queensland for the period 1 July 1999 to 30 June 2004.ResultsIndigenous people were twice as likely as non-Indigenous people to be hospitalised for injury (age-standardised rate ratio [SRR] 2.26, 95% CI 2.24-2.29), and had a 17-fold greater hospitalisation rate for interpersonal violence (SRR, 16.9, 95% CI 16.6-17.3). Indigenous males and females were most commonly injured by a family member or intimate partner and females constituted 54% of Indigenous cases. Most non-Indigenous cases were males (82%), most commonly injured by stranger(s). Head injuries by bodily force were the most frequent injuries. Age-standardised hospitalisation rates of interpersonal violence increased with remoteness of usual residence for Indigenous people and, less so, for others.ConclusionThe largest differential between Indigenous and non-Indigenous injury-related hospitalisations was for interpersonal violence, particularly for women. About half the excess morbidity from interpersonal violence among Indigenous people is due to factors associated with remote living.ImplicationsCulturally appropriate interventions that tackle a wide range of social and economic issues are needed to mitigate Indigenous interpersonal violence.

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