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).
'The vast majority (86%) of these community injuries, or
injuries typically sustained in the home, workplace or street, were
unintentional,' said report author Clare Bradley.
'The rest were considered to be intentional, such as assault or
self-harm,' she said.
The leading causes of these unintentional injuries were falls
(36%) and road crashes (14%).
'Young men are still the most likely group to be injured in a
transport accident, while older people, particularly older women,
are most likely to be injured in a fall,' Ms Bradley said.
As in previous years, males accounted for the majority (58%) of
hospitalised injury cases overall. Their age-standardised injury
rate was 1.5 times as high as the rate for females.
The report, Hospital separations due to injury and poisoning,
Australia 2004-05, also showed there were around 22,500 cases of
work-related injury hospitalisations in 2004-05.
The hospital admission rate for work-related injuries was six
times as high for males as it was for females.
Being struck by objects, being injured in explosions or by
contact with tools or machinery were the most common causes of
work-related injuries. Over a third of work injuries were injuries
to the wrist and hand.
'The report also shows that there were over 37,000 cases of
sports injuries serious enough to result in hospitalisation,' Ms
Bradley said.
Team ball sports were the leading cause of hospitalised
sport-related injury for both males and females.
'Football in particular, which includes Australian Rules, rugby,
soccer and touch football, accounted for almost 40% of all
sport-related injuries,' she said.
Almost 80% of sport-related injury cases involved males.
Falls, crashes, overexertion, being hit or bumped by another
person, or being hit by sports equipment were all common causes of
sport-related injury.
This report is the latest in a series of annual reports that
look at injuries that resulted in admission to an Australian
hospital.
Canberra, 26 November 2008
Further information: Clare Bradley, AIHW, tel.
08 8201 7625.
For media copies of the report: Publications
Officer, AIHW, tel. (02) 6244 1032.
Availability: Check the Publications area for
the availability of Hospital separations due
to injury and poisoning, Australia 2004-05.