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Utopia study outcome bucks trends

4 March 2008 - Self-determination and a traditional hunting lifestyle dramatically improve the health of Aborigines, according to a definitive study of a remote Northern Territory community.

The death rate at Utopia, made up of 16 homeland communities in the desert north-east of Alice Springs, was strikingly low compared with other indigenous populations in the territory, the study found.

The average adult mortality rate for Utopia residents in the 1995-2004 period was just over 1,000 deaths per 100,000 population - nearly half that of the general NT Aboriginal population. The research, published on Monday in the Medical Journal of Australia, also found there had been no increase in diabetes and obesity over the past 20 years.

In the ten years from 1995 to 2004, death rates from cardiovascular diseases at Utopia were about half those of Aboriginal people in the NT generally.

Hospitalisation for cardiovascular disease also occurred at a much lower rate and was close to that of the territory's non-indigenous population.

The results are unique because they buck national trends, even though Utopia residents have the same levels of housing, income and employment as other remote Aboriginal communities, said Professor Ian Anderson from the Cooperative Research Centre for Aboriginal Health.

He attributed Utopia's impressive health record to the decentralised layout of the community, which provides access to traditional lands for hunting and gathering.

A proactive health service which travels to remote outstations and "a high degree of personal mastery and control over life circumstances" were also important factors, he said.

"Disempowerment is increasingly being understood as a major determinant of ill-health," Professor Anderson said.

"Mastery and control over life circumstances is a fundamental determinant of good health.

"People in Utopia have designed their own community, have freehold title to their land and control of the way health services are delivered."

The community-controlled Urapuntja Health Service has a weekly roster for doctors who check on Aborigines as they live a mostly traditional lifestyle.

"People at Utopia have access to their traditional lands and hunt for food regularly, especially those on the more remote outstations," said Ricky Tilmouth from the Urapuntja Health Service.

"There is also a great sense of pride in the community's achievements and in the strong cultural practices that continue in Utopia."

Interestingly, the study found that people who lived near the community store tended to gain weight compared with those living on outstations.

Commenced in the early 1980s, the study was a collaborative effort involving the Menzies Research Centre in Alice Springs, Melbourne University and the Urapuntja Health Centre.

also see: Medical Jounal of Australia

Source: The Age

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