Injury publications

Cancer and heart disease cause the biggest burden

A new report released today by the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW), examines levels of death and disability from a variety of diseases, injuries and health risks to determine the total 'burden of disease' in Australia.

Report raises questions about remote road safety

A new report released today by the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW) and the Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB) examines transportation-related injuries and deaths of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians in Queensland, Western Australia, South Australia and the Northern Territory.

Injury of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people due to transport, 1999-00 to 2003-04

This report looks at the death and serious injury of Indigenous persons in Australia due to transport accidents in the five-year period 1999-00 to 2003-04. 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. DOTARS Report Number: 50250.

Fall-related hospitalisations among older people: sociocultural and regional aspects

The ageing of the Australian population has enlarged the population at high risk of fall-related injury and population projections imply substantial increase in years to come. A large proportion of Australia's older population were born overseas and changing migration patterns following the Second World War have resulted in an older population which is becoming highly culturally and linguistically diverse. This report examines fall-related hospitalisations for people aged 65 and older for the years 2000-03 according to country of birth and place of usual residence.

A national picture of medical indemnity claims in Australia 2004–05

This report presents the first 12 months' data from the combined Medical Indemnity National Collection (MINC) of public and private sector medical indemnity claims. This is the first report on medical indemnity in Australia to combine public and private sector data. The data in this report cover claims current at any time during the reporting period 1 July 2004 to 30 June 2005. That is, claims that were open, new claims that arose, and claims finalised during the period. There is information on the incidents that give rise to and the medical specialties involved in claims, the people affected by these incidents, the nature of injury, and the size, outcome and length of time claims have been open.

Electrical injury and death

This Briefing provides an overview of hospitalisations and deaths occurring as a result of electrical injury or exposure to lightning. Serious electrical injuries are relatively infrequent and injuries occurring as a result of lightning are extremely rare events. Over the two year period 2002-03 to 2003-04 only 1,493 people were hospitalised as a result of an electrical injury at an age-adjusted rate of 3.78 cases per 100,000 population. Deaths occurring as a result of electrical injury or lightning are even rarer with 162 cases in the four years examined (2001-04).

Reports examine injury hospitalisations and deaths

Two new reports released today by the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW) look at injury and poisoning cases that resulted in hospitalisation or death.

Hospital separations due to injury and poisoning, Australia 2003-04

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 2004. The report has been designed to complement 'Injury deaths, Australia 2003-04'.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, remoteness of usual residence, length of stay in hospital, external causes of injury, and other characteristics.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.

Injury deaths, Australia 2003-04

This report describes injury mortality in Australia during 2003-04. It includes information about the major causes of injury such as transport-related deaths, suicide and accidental falls. The data provided in relation to each cause include age and sex, state and territory differences, remoteness of residence, trends over time, and other associated factors. It also contains a brief overview of injury mortality associated with complications of surgical and medical care.The report will be relevant to anyone interested in gaining an insight into patterns of injury mortality and the burden it imposes on the Australian community.

Hospitalised injury of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples 2000-02

The report provides a cross-sectional summary of hospital separations due to injury and poisoning for the aggregated data collection periods 2000-01, and 2001-the 02 for Australia's Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.

Hip fracture injuries

The incidence of hip fractures is rising and projected to further increase in Australia due to the population growth in the oldest age groups, where hip fractures are the most common form of fracture. Hip fractures result in a large economic burden due to health expenditure in most industrialised countries and, hence, understanding the nature of hip fracture related hospitalisations and deaths is important.

Burns and scalds

This report shows that burns and scalds are common, the greatest number of events resulting in burn injuries take place within the home, and most are not very severe. The majority are classified as partial burns, and affect a body surface area of less than 10%. Most at risk of burn injury are children aged less than 4 years old, young males and older adults. For such populations the rate of hospitalisation is high, and according to literature in the area, the majority of these injuries are preventable.

Childhood poisoning in Australia

Each year in Australia since 1999-00 about 4,700 cases of poisoning in children under the age of 15 years resulted in hospitalisation. Of these, 63% were due to poisoning by pharmaceutical substances and 37% to poisoning by non-pharmaceutical substances.

Child injury due to falls from playground equipment, Australia 2002-2004

This report examines Australian hospital separations and deaths data for injuries coded as being due to unintentional falls involving playground equipment, which were sustained by children aged 0-14 years of age, in the reporting period July 2002 to June 2004.

Transport-related injuries, work-related falls and sports injuries responsible for most spinal cord damage

The number and rate of new cases of spinal cord injury (SCI), and the reasons behind them have changed very little in recent years, according to the latest report from the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW).

Spinal cord injury, Australia 2004-05

Severe spinal cord injury is a very debilitating injury. This report presents information from the Australian Spinal Cord Injury Register on 381 cases from trauma and disease in 2004-05. During the year, 280 new cases of spinal cord injury from traumatic causes were registered in Australia, an age-adjusted incidence rate of 15.4 cases per million population. The most common clinical outcome of spinal cord injury was incomplete tetraplegia. Falling was the most common type of event leading to traumatic spinal cord injury at older ages. The Australian Spinal Cord Injury Register is a collaborative activity of the AIHW National Injury Surveillance Unit and all of the specialist spinal units in Australia.

Planning and testing CATI-based injury prevention population surveys

Computer assisted telephone interviewing (CATI) is an increasingly common survey methodology in the public health arena. CATI methodology has been applied both in highly specific areas of health behaviours research and broad-scale national health surveys. In recent years, the CATI Technical Reference Group -a subcommittee of the National Public Health Information Working Group-have been developing topic-specific question modules for population health surveys in conjunction with key informants.

Occupational therapy labour force 2002-2003

Occupational therapists are allied health professionals who teach people how to return tonormal activities after injury or illness, using therapy and rehabilitation. This report presents statistics on occupational therapists in Australia. It is based on the main findings of the 2002-2003 national surveys of occupational therapists. Information presented in the report includes an overview of the demographic characteristics of occupational therapist respondents, such as their age/sex profile, and their work characteristics, such as clinical specialty, work setting and hours worked.

Hospitalised basketball and netball injuries

Exercise is important for minimising risk of conditions including cardiovascular disease, stroke, diabetes, cancer, hypertension, mental health disorders and premature death. It is not uncommon for participants to be injured but most injuries are not severe. A study of sport- and exercise-related injury in the Latrobe Valley found one hospital admission for every 10 emergency admissions and 12 general practiceconsultations. Hospitalised injuries tend to be more severe and costly than other injuries. Hence, while hospitalised sports injuries are small as a proportion of all sport injuries, they warrant attention.

New External Cause categories in fifth edition of ICD-10-AM

The International Classification of Diseases (ICD) is designed to promote internationalcomparability in the collection, processing, classification, and presentation of hospitalinpatient and mortality data. The Tenth Revision of the International Classification ofDiseases (ICD-10) is used to code diagnoses and external causes of injury andpoisoning. Chapter XIX - Injury, poisoning and certain other consequences of externalcauses and Chapter XX - External causes of morbidity and mortality are particularlyimportant in relation to injury surveillance and control.

Binge drinking affects workers and workplace safety

A new report released today by the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW), shows 17% percent of workers had a binge-drinking episode at least once a month that placed them at risk of harm, including injury or death, and 9% of workers had such an episode at least weekly.

Alcohol and work: patterns of use, workplace culture and safety

Little is known regarding the alcohol consumption patterns of the Australian workforce and the impact these patterns have on workplace safety, workplace productivity and workers' wellbeing. This report addresses this lack of knowledge, and is one of the most comprehensive examinations of the role of alcohol in the Australian workplace.

Hospital separations due to injury and poisoning, Australia 2001-02

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 2002. The report has been designed to complement 'Injury Deaths, Australia 2002'. 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, remoteness of usual residence, length of stay in hospital, external causes of injury, and other characteristics. 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.

Hospitalised sports injury, Australia 2002-03

It is common for persons participating in sport to be injured. Only a minority of these injuries require hospitalisation. However, hospitalised injuries are usually more severe and costly than others. This report describes hospitalised sports injury in 2002-2003, in Australia. Fourteen sports groupings are reviewed in detail, including football, water sports, cycling and roller sports. Topics covered for these groupings include body region most frequently injured, type of injury and mechanism of injury, age and sex. It is of relevance to both health personnel and sporting bodies.

Unprotected road users most at risk for spinal cord injury

Transport-related injuries and falls continue to be the major causes of spinal cord injury in Australia according to a new report released today by the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW).