Table 3. Characteristics of the Study Sample and Australian Population, 2012–2013, for Children and for Health Care Visits.
| Characteristic | Children, No. (%) | Health Care Visits for Children, No. (%) | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Study Sample (n = 6689) | Australian Population aged ≤15 y (n = 4 618 935)a |
Study Sample (n = 15 240) |
Australian Population aged ≤15 y (n = 19 352 690)b |
|
| Age, yc | ||||
| 0-4 | 3585 (53.6) | 1 503 262 (32.5) | 8899 (58.4) | 9 887 182 (51.1) |
| 5-9 | 1661 (24.8) | 1 437 296 (31.1) | 3530 (23.2) | 4 623 506 (23.9) |
| 10-15 | 1443 (21.6) | 1 678 377 (36.3) | 2811 (18.4) | 4 842 002 (25.0) |
| Median age (IQR), y | 4 (1-9) | 7 (3-11) | 3 (1-8) | NCd |
| Sex | ||||
| Male | 3714 (55.5) | 2 370 904 (51.3) | 8559 (56.2) | 10 143 724 (52.4) |
| Female | 2975 (44.5) | 2 248 031 (48.7) | 6681 (43.8) | 9 208 966 (47.6) |
Abbreviations: IQR, interquartile range; NC, not calculable.
Population as estimated on December 31, 2012, using Australian Bureau of Statistics midyear population estimates for 2012 and 2013.
Visits, in the period from July 1, 2012, to June 30, 2013, for hospital care (inpatient and emergency department) and care in the community provided by general practitioners and pediatricians; see eAppendix 3 in the Supplement for details on the data sources.
In the study sample, the child’s age was calculated as the age at visit when there was only 1 visit, or the midpoint of the child’s age at his or her first and last eligible visits, when there was more than 1.
Data were sourced by age group (0-4, 5-9, and 10-15 years) and the median and IQR could not therefore be calculated. Based on the age-group data, the 25th percentile was not estimable, but the median was likely to be 4 years and the 75th percentile, 10 years.