Counting culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) children in Australian health research: Does it matter how we count?
Aust N Z J Public Health
; 48(2): 100129, 2024 Apr.
Article
en En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-38429223
ABSTRACT
OBJECTIVE:
To describe how culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) children are identified and enumerated in routine data collections and in child health research in Australia.METHODS:
Descriptive analysis, where different definitions of CALD were applied to the 2021 Australian Census to measure the size of the CALD population of Australian children aged 0 to 17 years. Narrative review of the Australian child health literature to examine how CALD children were defined.RESULTS:
Applying various definitions to the 2021 Census, the estimated proportion of CALD children aged 0 to 17 ranged from 6.3% to 43%. The most commonly applied CALD indicators were language background other than English and being born overseas.CONCLUSIONS:
There is no consensus on how CALD is defined in Australian child health research. Application of different CALD indicators can generate up to seven-fold differences in estimates of who counts as being a CALD child. IMPLICATIONS FOR PUBLIC HEALTH If we are to advance health and well-being equity for CALD children, we need a more consistent approach to understanding which children are counted as CALD.Palabras clave
Texto completo:
1
Banco de datos:
MEDLINE
Asunto principal:
Diversidad Cultural
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Lenguaje
Límite:
Adolescent
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Child
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Child, preschool
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Female
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Humans
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Infant
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Male
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Newborn
País/Región como asunto:
Oceania
Idioma:
En
Revista:
Aust N Z J Public Health
Asunto de la revista:
SAUDE PUBLICA
Año:
2024
Tipo del documento:
Article