A comparison of demographic characteristics between the NSW-CDS cohort and Australian Census data
| NSW-CDS child cohort | General ‘comparable’ population* | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| n | Per cent | NSW, % | National, % | |
| Age, years | ||||
| <5 | 4132 | 4.75 | ||
| 5–6 | 68 275 | 78.45 | ||
| ≥6 | 14 619 | 16.70 | ||
| Gender | ||||
| Male | 44 729 | 51.40 | 51.50 | 51.40 |
| Female | 42 297 | 48.60 | 48.50 | 48.60 |
| ARIA† | ||||
| Major cities | 62 556 | 71.88 | 72.81 | 72.90 |
| Inner regional | 16 674 | 19.16 | 20.05 | 20.24 |
| Outer regional | 6771 | 7.78 | 6.48 | 6.33 |
| Remote | 890 | 1.02 | 0.51 | 0.46 |
| Very remote | 135 | 0.16 | 0.15 | 0.06 |
| SEIFA Index for Relative Socio-Economic Disadvantage‡ | ||||
| Quintile 1 (greatest disadvantage) | 20 951 | 24.07 | 20.00 | 20.00 |
| Quintile 2 | 19 336 | 22.22 | 20.00 | 20.00 |
| Quintile 3 | 12 489 | 14.35 | 20.00 | 20.00 |
| Quintile 4 | 12 201 | 14.35 | 20.00 | 20.00 |
| Quintile 5 (least disadvantage) | 22 034 | 25.02 | 19.00 | 20.00 |
*Comparative population of children aged 5–9 years in 2011 (NSW-CDS child cohort approximately 7 years in 2011) derived from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) and Australian Institute of Health and Welfare.6–8 ,12 ,13
†This index was commissioned by the former Department of Health and Aged Care, and uses geographic information systems to summarise a community's level of remoteness based on the accessibility of services (derived from measures of road distances between populated localities and service centres).13
‡The indices were developed by the ABS as a set of measures derived from census information that summarise the socioeconomic conditions of an area. The postcode of residence of the child recorded in the AEDC was matched to an ABS State Suburb (SSC), and the corresponding SEIFA score for the SSC. Quintiles for SEIFA scores reported in the 2009 AEDC data set are based on ABS SEIFA deciles for the 2006 census.11 Quintiles are based on National AEDC data (ie, created on the basis of all children who participated in the 2009 AEDC nationally).14
ARIA, Accessibility/Remoteness Index of Australia; NSW-CDS, New South Wales Child Development Study; SEIFA, Socioeconomic Indexes for Areas.