Cohort profile: Understanding the influence of early life environments and health and social service system contacts over time and across generations through the Western Australian Aboriginal Child Health Survey (WAACHS) Linked Data Study

Francis Mitrou; Helen Milroy; Juli Coffin; Sharynne L Hamilton; Christopher G Brennan-Jones; Stefanie Schurer; Elizabeth A Davis; Peter Richmond; Hayley M Passmore; Glenn Pearson; Alex Brown; Melissa O'Donnell; Asha C Bowen; Peter Azzopardi; Katherine M Conigrave; Jenny Downs; Matthew M Cooper; Kathryn A Ramsey; Anna Ferrante; Sarah E Johnson; Leah Cave; Philip Vlaskovsky; Katrina D Hopkins; Heather A D'Antoine; Ted Wilkes; Stephen R Zubrick

doi:10.1136/bmjopen-2024-087522

Cohort profile: Understanding the influence of early life environments and health and social service system contacts over time and across generations through the Western Australian Aboriginal Child Health Survey (WAACHS) Linked Data Study

BMJ Open. 2024 Oct 2;14(10):e087522. doi: 10.1136/bmjopen-2024-087522.

Authors

Francis Mitrou^{1

2}, Helen Milroy^{3

4}, Juli Coffin⁵, Sharynne L Hamilton^{6

7}, Christopher G Brennan-Jones^{8

9}, Stefanie Schurer¹⁰, Elizabeth A Davis^{11

12}, Peter Richmond^{12

13}, Hayley M Passmore¹⁴, Glenn Pearson⁷, Alex Brown^{7

15}, Melissa O'Donnell¹⁶, Asha C Bowen^{12

13}, Peter Azzopardi^{17

18}, Katherine M Conigrave¹⁹, Jenny Downs^{2

20}, Matthew M Cooper²¹, Kathryn A Ramsey^{2

22}, Anna Ferrante²³, Sarah E Johnson²⁴, Leah Cave²³, Philip Vlaskovsky²⁵, Katrina D Hopkins¹, Heather A D'Antoine²⁶, Ted Wilkes^{27

28}, Stephen R Zubrick^{1

2}

Affiliations

¹ Population Health, The Kids Research Institute Australia, Perth, WA, Australia.
² Centre for Child Health Research, The University of Western Australia, Perth, WA, Australia.
³ Medical School, Psychiatry, The University of Western Australia, Perth, WA, Australia.
⁴ Mental Health and Youth Program, The Kids Research Institute Australia, Perth, WA, Australia.
⁵ Ngangk Yira Institute for Change, Yawardani Jan-ga Research Centre, Murdoch University, Broome, WA, Australia.
⁶ University of Canberra, Canberra, ACT, Australia.
⁷ Indigenous Health, The Kids Research Institute Australia, Perth, WA, Australia.
⁸ Ear Health Team, The Kids Research Institute Australia, Perth, WA, Australia.
⁹ Faculty of Health Sciences, Curtin University, Perth, WA, Australia.
¹⁰ School of Economics, The University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW, Australia.
¹¹ Diabetes and Obesity Research Team, The Kids Research Institute Australia, Perth, WA, Australia.
¹² Medical School, Paediatrics, The University of Western Australia, Perth, WA, Australia.
¹³ Wesfarmers Centre for Vaccines and Infectious Diseases, Telethon Kids Institute, Perth, WA, Australia.
¹⁴ Law School, The University of Western Australia, Nedlands, WA, Australia.
¹⁵ Indigenous Genomics, Australian National University, Canberra, ACT, Australia.
¹⁶ Australian Centre for Child Protection, University of South Australia, Adelaide, SA, Australia.
¹⁷ Centre for Adolescent Health, Murdoch Children's Research Institute, Department of Paediatrics, The University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.
¹⁸ Population Health, The Kids Research Institute Australia, Adelaide, SA, Australia.
¹⁹ Faculty of Medicine and Health, Central Clinical School, NHMRC Centre of Research Excellence in Indigenous Health and Alcohol, The University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW, Australia.
²⁰ Development and Disability, The Kids Research Institute Australia, Perth, WA, Australia.
²¹ Biometrics, The Kids Research Institute Australia, Perth, WA, Australia.
²² Children's Lung Health, The Kids Research Institute Australia, Perth, WA, Australia.
²³ Faculty of Health Sciences, School of Population Health, Curtin University, Perth, WA, Australia.
²⁴ Population Health, The Kids Research Institute Australia, Perth, WA, Australia [email protected].
²⁵ Centre for Applied Statistics, The University of Western Australia, Perth, WA, Australia.
²⁶ Menzies School of Health Research, Darwin, NT, Australia.
²⁷ School of Indigenous Studies, The University of Western Australia, Perth, WA, Australia.
²⁸ Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, Canberra, ACT, Australia.

Abstract

Purpose: Despite the volume of accumulating knowledge from prospective Aboriginal cohort studies, longitudinal data describing developmental trajectories in health and well-being is limited. The linkage of child and carer cohorts from a historical cross-sectional survey with longitudinal health-service and social-service administrative data has created a unique and powerful data resource that underpins the Western Australian Aboriginal Child Health Survey (WAACHS) linked data study. This study aims to provide evidence-based information to Aboriginal communities across Western Australia, governments and non-government agencies on the heterogeneous life trajectories of Aboriginal children and families.

Participants: This study comprises data from a historical cross-sectional household study of 5289 Aboriginal children from the WAACHS (2000-2002) alongside their primary (N=2113) and other (N=1040) carers, and other householders. WAACHS data were linked with Western Australia (WA) government administrative datasets up to 2020 including health, education, child protection, police and justice system contacts. The study also includes two non-Aboriginal cohorts from WA, linked with the same administrative data sources allowing comparisons of outcomes across cohorts in addition to between-group comparisons within the Aboriginal population.

Findings to date: Linked data coverage rates are presented for all WAACHS participants. Child health outcomes for the WAACHS children (Cohort 1) are described from birth into adulthood along with other outcomes including child protection and juvenile justice involvement.

Future plans: Analysis of data from both the child and carer cohorts will seek to understand the contribution of individual, family (intergenerational) and community-level influences on Aboriginal children's developmental and health pathways, identify key developmental transitions or turning points where interventions may be most effective in improving outcomes, and compare service pathways for Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal children. All research is guided by Aboriginal governance processes and study outputs will be produced with Aboriginal leadership to guide culturally appropriate policy and practice for improving health, education and social outcomes.

Keywords: Child; EPIDEMIOLOGY; Family; Health Equity; PUBLIC HEALTH.

MeSH terms

Adolescent
Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples
Child
Child Health*
Child, Preschool
Cohort Studies
Cross-Sectional Studies
Female
Health Surveys
Humans
Infant
Male
Western Australia