Investigators: Darren Westphal, Deborah Lehmann, Hannah Moore
We used routinely collected data to find out how often children were admitted to hospital with middle ear infections (otitis media, OM) or for OM-related surgical procedures.
Children who were Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander were 10 times more likely to go to hospital for middle ear infection than non-Aboriginal children. Despite this, non-Aboriginal children were more likely to have a procedure than Aboriginal children. Boys were more likely to be hospitalised for middle ear disease than girls. Children who spent time in the newborn special care unit or lived in a rural or remote part of the state were more likely to be admitted for OM than other children. Non-Aboriginal children born to teenage mothers or being born by an elective caesarean section had a higher chance of being hospitalised for middle ear disease.