Abstract
Changes in population structures and characteristics over time at small area level has been found in a range of countries to show distinctive patterns with net migration loss from the more deprived, urban areas and migration gain in accessible, semi rural areas. Paralleling these changes are that areas with shrinking populations and those where levels of deprivation remaining relatively high have worse mortality experiences than those which gain population or experience improving deprivation circumstances. The picture for self-reported health is less clear. The availability in Australia of data at SA2 level in consistent formats in 2001 and 2011 allow changes over the 10 year period to be investigated. This will entail, for each area: calculating natural change and net migration change; and for each time point, devising comparable deprivation and population density measures and calculating standardised mortality and illness ratios. It is anticipated that the results for the major urban areas are likely to show similar patterns to those found elsewhere (e.g. within the UK) but given the areal extent of the more rural areas and distinctive population characteristics, differences in these types of areas will be found. Understanding the systematic changes in populations over time and how this relates to health outcomes is important to planners when assessing the success of regeneration schemes and health intervention policies.
