Author Identifier (ORCID)
Natalie Ann Strobel: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2962-5704
Daniel Christensen: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9684-5782
Daniel McAullay: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0651-899X
Abstract
Objectives The primary objective was to determine whether a behaviour change intervention delivered to hospital staff would (1) improve the proportion of Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander (Aboriginal) babies being registered and (2) reduce hospital admissions and emergency presentations for babies <6 months old. The secondary objective was an observational analysis to determine factors that might influence the proportion of registered Aboriginal births in Western Australia (WA). Design Quasi-experimental design and cohort study. Setting Five tertiary birthing hospitals in WA. Participants The intervention was delivered to health service providers who were in the five tertiary birthing hospitals. Outcome data were collected on Aboriginal babies born between 1 January 2016 and 30 June 2018 who were delivered within these hospitals. Babies in the control group (n=226) were born 6months before the intervention and intervention babies (n=232) were born 6months following the intervention. For the secondary objective, there were 4573 babies included in the analysis. Interventions A behaviour change intervention delivered to hospital staff in five hospitals. Primary and secondary outcome measures The primary outcomes were the proportion of babies who were registered and whether a baby had been admitted to hospital or an emergency department by 3 and 6 months old. The secondary outcome was to determine factors that might influence the proportion of registered Aboriginal births in WA (cohort study). Results There was evidence of a 38% reduction in emergency presentations within 6months for babies born to hospitals 6months following the staff training (OR 0.62, 95%CI 0.42 to 0.91), and little evidence of improvements in birth registrations, hospital admissions within 3 or 6months of birth or emergency department presentations within 3months of birth. Of the 4573 babies included in the cohort study, 3769 (82.4%) babies had their births registered and 804 (17.6%) babies did not. Factors that were associated with not having a birth registered included low birth weight babies with a 34% decrease in odds of having a registered birth compared with those with a normal birth weight (adjusted OR (aOR) 0.66, 95%CI 0.51 to 0.86). Timing of first antenatal visit was associated with reduced odds of having a birth registered if this occurred in the second (aOR 0.77, 95%CI 0.64 to 0.93) or third trimester (aOR 0.59, 95%CI 0.45 to 0.77) compared with the first trimester. Conclusions Our study identifies the complexities surrounding birth registrations and improved hospital utilisation for Aboriginal babies, the importance of targeted interventions and ongoing efforts needed to address this issue comprehensively.
Document Type
Journal Article
Date of Publication
10-20-2025
Volume
15
Issue
10
PubMed ID
41120156
Publication Title
BMJ Open
Publisher
BMJ Publishing Group
School
Kurongkurl Katitjin
RAS ID
88046
Funders
National Health and Medical Research Council of Australia
Grant Number
NHMRC Number : APP1086141
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Comments
McAuley, K., Strobel, N. A., Christensen, D., Edmond, K. M., Jacoby, P., & McAullay, D. (2025). Outcomes following a behaviour change intervention within hospitals to improve birth registrations and hospital utilisation for Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander infants: A quasi-experimental and cohort study. BMJ Open, 15(10), e089098. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjopen-2024-089098