A snapshot of men's health in regional and remote Australia
Men in rural regions of Australia may face distinct health issues because of their location, work and lifestyle. This report provides a snapshot of some of these issues and compares the illness and mortality of men in rural and urban areas.Overall, men in rural areas are more likely than their urban counterparts to experience chronic health conditions and risk factors. For example, they: are more likely to report daily smoking and risky drinking behaviour; are less likely to possess an adequate level of health literacy; have higher mortality rates from injury, cardiovascular disease and diabetes. This report is a useful resource for policymakers, researchers and others interested in emerging men's health policies in Australia.
Spinal cord injury, Australia 2007-08
In 2007-08 there were 362 new spinal cord injuries [SCI], the majority of which [79%] were due to traumatic causes. SCI were most frequent in the 15-24 year age group [30%], although trends show a significant increase in the average age at injury from 38 years in 1995-96 to 42 years in 2007-08. Males accounted for 84% of traumatic SCI. Transport-related injuries (46%) and falls (28%) were the main contributors to traumatic SCI. Rates for the NT and WA were significantly higher than the national incidence rate.
Serious injury due to land transport accidents, Australia 2006-07
This report presents national statistics on serious non-fatal injury due to land transport accidents in Australia during 2006-07. Males were more than 2 times than females to be hospitalised as a result of a land transport accident, while just over 50% of those hospitalised were aged less than 30 years. When looking at serious injury rates for road vehicle traffic crashes in relation to the number of kilometres travelled, the rate for motorcyclists was more than 37 times that of car occupants. Rates for the Northern Territory remained higher than those for all other jurisdictions over the period from 2000-01 to 2006-07.
Serious injury due to transport accidents involving a railway train, Australia 2002-03 to 2006-07
This report presents national statistics on serious non-fatal injury due to transport accidents involving a railway train in Australia during the period from 2002-03 to 2006-07. Victoria and New South Wales accounted for over 71% of hospitalisations due to transport injury involving a train, while Victoria accounted for just over half of level-crossing hospitalisations during this period.The risk of serious injury, based on kilometres travelled, is more than 10 times greater for passengers travelling by car, compared with passengers travelling by rail.
Motorcyclists, young men most at risk of road injury
Men are more than twice as likely as women to suffer serious injury as a result of a land transport accident, according to a report released today by the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW).
Injury deaths, Australia 2004-05
Accidental falls, suicide and transport-related injuries are common causes of death in the Australian community. This report finds that overall, rates of injury death in Australia during 2004-05 increased with the remoteness of the injured person's residence, with those who resided in very remote areas having a rate more than double that of the national rate. When considering only deaths resulting from motor vehicle transport accidents, the mortality rate for those who resided in very remote areas was 4 times the national rate. When considering state and territory of residence, those who resided in the Northern Territory, where much of the population lives in remote and very remote areas, had mortality rates almost 3 times the national rate for motor vehicle transport-related deaths, more than double the national rate for suicides, and more than 4 times the national rate for homicides.
Injury deaths twice as likely for men
Men are twice as likely as women to suffer injury-related deaths according to a report released today by the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare.
A review of suicide statistics in Australia
A review of suicide statistics in Australia is a detailed report on the statistical processes used to track national suicide rates. Suicide is a matter of considerable public interest and policy significance so reliable statistical information on suicide occurrence is important.This report examines in detail the current methodologies used to track suicide rates, identifying issues with the process of suicide reporting and the extent of, and reason for, any under-enumeration of suicide. Revised estimates are provided and the report provides advice for the future statistical monitoring of suicide and self harm in Australia. This report provides a unique insight into the limitations of current data on suicide rates.
'Doing well' but 'could do better' for Australia's kids
The latest report on Australia's children, released today by the
Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, shows a continuing fall
in child death rates - mostly due to fewer injury deaths - as well
as declining asthma hospitalisations, teen births and smoking rates
in older children.
Injury severity scaling: a comparison of methods for measurement of injury severity
NISU uses a method to distinguish 'high threat to life' injuries from less serious injuries in some publications. The method is called the ICD-based Injury Severity Scaling (ICISS). This technical report documents a revision and update to the method.
Drowning and other injuries related to aquatic activities at ages 55 years and older in Australia
A little over one-quarter of all drowning deaths in Australia and one eighth of hospitalised non-fatal drowning cases occur at ages 55 years and older. This report describes the occurrence of such cases during several years (nine for deaths and five for hospitalised cases). It also describes hospitalised non-drowning injuries in relation to aquatic activities and places.
Spinal cord injury, 1999-2005
Spinal cord injury (SCI) is a very debilitating injury. During the six year period from 1 July 1999 to 30 June 2005 there were 19,912 hospital separations in Australia which involved some form of spinal cord injury. Transport-related cases accounted for over 47% of all incident cases, while fall-related injury accounted for a further 33%. Over half (54%) of separations involved readmissions related to complications of spinal cord injuries sustained at an earlier time. The introduction of person-based linkage would allow much more complete and reliable estimation of the incidence of SCI in the community and the burden of SCI on the hospital sector and community.
Hospitalisations due to falls by older people, Australia 2005-06
This report is the second in a series of biennial reports on hospitalisations due to falls by older people in Australia. The report focuses on hospitalised falls occurring in the financial year 2005-06 and examines trends in fall-related hospitalisations over the period 1999-2006. The number of fall events resulting in hospitalisation due to injury for older Australians remains high and the rate of fall-related injury incidents is particularly high for the oldest group within this population. As in the previous report, older females accounted for most of the hospitalised fall injury cases and a third of cases had injuries to the hip and thigh. Half of all fall injury cases for people aged 65 years and older occurred in the home. Falls in residential institutions were also common. Age-standardised rates of hospitalised fall-related injury separations have increased over the seven year study period to June 2006, despite a decrease in the rate for femur fractures due to falls. The estimated total length of stay per fall injury case has also increased over the period 1999-2006, apparently influenced by increases in the number of bed-days used by episodes of fall-related follow-up care.
More fall injuries for the over 65s
Older Australians are being hospitalised at an increasing rate
due to falls, and the total annual number of cases is rising,
according to a report released today by the Australian Institute of
Health and Welfare (AIHW).
Eye-related injuries in Australia
Reducing preventable vision loss has recently been identified as a priority by Australian governments and non-government organisations. Eye injuries in Australia is the third in a series of national reports providing an overview of eye health in Australia. This report presents eye injuries from the perspectives of hospitalisations, general practice consultations, emergency department attendances, workers' compensation claims, and also as reported in national surveys. This report is an invaluable resource for policy-makers, health professionals, advocacy groups and others interested in knowing more about eye injuries in Australia.
Working age males most likely to suffer eye injury
Males, particularly those of working age, were more likely than
females to suffer an injury to the eye, according to a report
released today by the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare
(AIHW).
Spinal cord injury, Australia, 2006-07
Severe spinal cord injury (SCI) is a very debilitating and costly injury. This report presents information from the Australian Spinal Cord Injury Register (ASCIR) on 348 newly incident cases from trauma and disease in 2006-07. During the year, 272 new cases of SCI from traumatic causes were registered in Australia, an age-adjusted incidence rate of 14.9 cases per million population. The most common clinical outcome of SCI from traumatic causes was incomplete tetraplegia (98 cases). Transport related injuries (52%) and falls (29%) accounted for over three-quarters of the 271 cases of traumatic SCI (one case under the age of 15 years was excluded from these analyses). Cases also occurred during sport (n = 21) and working for income, including travel to and from work (n = 37). Falling was the most common type of event leading to traumatic SCI at older ages. The ASCIR is a collaborative activity of the AIHW National Injury Surveillance Unit and all of the specialist spinal units in Australia.
Males 15-24 hit hardest by spinal cord injuries
There were 272 new cases of persisting traumatic spinal cord
injury in 2006-07, with the highest case count among males in the
15-24 years age group, according to a new report released today by
the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW).
Hospital separations due to injury and poisoning, Australia, 2004-05
This report presents national statistics on injuries that resulted in admission to hospitals in Australia. It includes cases discharged during the year to 30 June 2005. Unintentional falls, transport-related injury, intentional self-harm and assault are common causes of hospitalised injury in the Australian community. Injuries due to these and other causes are described, in terms of case numbers and rates, by age and sex, place of usual residence, length of stay in hospital and other characteristics. Injuries sustained while working for income or while engaged in sporting activities are also described. The report will be relevant to anyone interested in gaining an insight into patterns of injury morbidity and the burden it imposes on the Australian community.
Top injuries leading to hospitalisation: falls for women, road crashes for men
About 356,000 injuries in 2004-05 were serious enough to result
in hospitalisation, according to the latest report on injuries and
poisoning released today by the Australian Institute of Health and
Welfare (AIHW).
Injury of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples due to transport, 2001-02 to 2005-06
This report looks at the death and serious injury of Indigenous persons in Australia due to transport accidents in the five-year period 2001-02 to 2005-06. It focuses on the four jurisdictions of the Northern Territory, Western Australia, South Australia and Queensland and examines variables such as mode of transport, gender, age group and remoteness from an urban centre.
Injury as a chronic health issue in Australia
This Briefing provides an overview of injury as a chronic health issue in Australia. The report highlights the long-term health consequences following severe injury and the effects on individual's physical and psychosocial wellbeing. Types of injuries covered in the Briefing include spinal cord injuries, traumatic brain injuries, severe burns as well as injury comorbidities such as fractures and self-harm.
Hospital separations due to traumatic brain injury, Australia 2004-05
This report describes hospitalisations for Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) in Australia for the period 2004-2005. TBI, as distinct from head injury, is characterised by an external impact to the head that results in damage to the brain. TBI is defined in this report by the presence in hospital separation records of at least one ICD-10-AM code in the S06 intracranial injury range occurring in at least one of fifty available diagnosis fields. The 22,710 records meeting this criterion were analysed in three groups, according to the prominence of TBI in the record. Analysis and description of combinations of injury types resulting in TBI admissions to a hospital are reported, including discussion of severity of injury, and cost and burden on the systems for acute care and rehabilitation. About 980 (4.3% of cases) deaths in hospital were reported. Direct costs for hospital care for TBI separations were estimated to be more than $184 million.
Falls, transport accidents and assault top causes of traumatic brain injury
Traumatic brain injury is a major cause of hospitalisation,
disability and death in Australia in 2004-05 and was responsible
for at least 22,700 hospitalisations, about 980 deaths in hospital,
and estimated direct hospital care costs of $184 million, according
to a report released today by the Australian Institute of Health
and Welfare (AIHW).
Serious injury due to transport accidents involving a railway train, Australia, 2001-02 to 2005-06
This report presents national statistics on serious injury due to transport accidents involving a railway train that resulted in admission to hospital in Australia during the five-year period 2001-02 to 2005-06. It examines variables such as mode of transport, gender and age group. It also focuses on level crossing accidents.