Early life multidimensional disadvantage of South Australian children: a whole-population linked data study
Discuss this preprint
Start a discussion What are Sciety discussions?Listed in
This article is not in any list yet, why not save it to one of your lists.Abstract
Background
Whole-population linked administrative data platforms provide an opportunity to generate evidence on early life multidimensional disadvantage to inform resourcing and service provision to families with complex needs.
Methods
We used individual-level de-identified data from nine administrative data sources included in the Better Evidence Better Outcomes Linked Data (BEBOLD) platform. The population included all children born in South Australia between 2004-2011 (n=143,083), and their parents. We described the prevalence and distribution of multiple disadvantages affecting children from the 12 months before birth to age 5. Eleven domains of parental disadvantage were created: economic, education, access to services, mental health, substance misuse, smoking during pregnancy, domestic and family violence, health, child protection contact, justice system contact, and death. We investigated the concordance of our measure with an area-level socioeconomic measure used in government reporting.
Results
One in two children (48%) were exposed to at least one disadvantage domain, and one in seven (14%) were exposed to three or more domains before age five. Economic disadvantage was most prevalent, affecting one in four (27%) children, of which 75% were exposed to additional forms of disadvantage. Substance misuse, domestic and family violence, and justice system contact were the least likely domains to occur in isolation. Only 54.4% who experienced five or more disadvantage domains were classified in the area-level socioeconomic measure’s ‘most disadvantaged’ quintile.
Conclusion
Early life exposure to parental disadvantage can be highly multidimensional. Measurement across different systems is important for informing coordinated service provision for families with complex needs.
What is already known on this topic
Children can experience a range of disadvantages in early life which can influence their health, development and long-term outcomes.
What this study adds
Linked administrative data makes it possible to observe co-occurrence of disadvantages across multiple service systems, beyond what is captured by area-level socioeconomic measures. This approach is particularly valuable for disadvantage measurement in early childhood, when children rely on parents and systems to represent their disadvantage.
How this study might affect research, practice or policy
This study highlights the potential of linked administrative data to identify parents’ overlaps in service system use over time. These insights can inform the resourcing and coordination of supportive services for families with complex needs.
