Abstract

This article describes the prevalence of informal caring in the Central Sydney Area Health Service (CSAHS) compared to that observed Australia-wide. Using data from the 1997 NSW Health Survey, we demonstrate that the prevalence of informal caring in the CSAHS is similar to that observed in larger Australia-wide surveys; and that, based on this limited sample, carers have similar sociodemographic characteristics and health status as non-carers. While this information is useful for health services planning, the analysis highlights some of the difficulties of examining conditions with low prevalence in small-area population surveys.