Most injuries, whether unintentional or intentional, are preventable (WHO 2014). Despite this, every year in Australia, thousands of people die and many more are admitted to hospital or attend hospital emergency departments because of injuries. While people with minor injuries typically recover completely, people with serious injuries, if they survive, often have lasting health problems (Gabbe et al. 2017).
Injuries can happen to anyone, but some population groups are more at risk than others, such as people who live in areas that are more remote or have a lower socioeconomic position, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, older people and males (Figures 1 and 2).
The leading causes of injury and injury deaths in Australia include unintentional falls, transport crashes and intentional self-harm and suicide (AIHW 2020a, b) (Figures 1 and 2). Other causes of injury and injury deaths include exposure to animate and inanimate mechanical forces, assault, poisoning, thermal causes, and drownings and submersions. Exposure to animate forces includes contact with animals (for example, being bitten or struck by an animal) and contact with people (for example, being hit unintentionally by another person). Exposure to inanimate forces includes contact with tools, machinery, or sharp or exploding objects. Injuries commonly have multiple causes. For example, frailty and weak bones contribute to fall-related injury in old age.
Understanding the data on injury and injury deaths is an important factor in creating effective measures—for example, appropriate legislation, policies, education and technology—to reduce the risk of injury.
Falls are the leading cause of injury and injury deaths
In 2017–18, almost 223,000 cases of hospitalised injury and more than 5,100 injury deaths were due to unintentional falls. Falls were estimated to cost the Australian health system $3.9 billion in 2015–16 (AIHW 2019a).
Hospitalised injury cases
In 2017–18, over 532,500 cases of injury resulted in admission to hospital in Australia:
- The rate of hospitalised injury was 2,148 per 100,000 population.
- The main causes of hospitalised injury were falls (42%), followed by injury due to inanimate mechanical forces (14%) and transport crashes (12%).
- The most common areas of the body injured were the head and neck (22%) and the hip and lower limb (20%). The most common types of hospitalised injury were fractures (38%) and open wounds (15%).
- Males accounted for more than half (55%) of all hospitalised injury cases. The rate of injury for males overall was 2,368 cases per 100,000 males, compared with 1,931 per 100,000 females. This difference remained when differences in age structure were accounted for (2,336 per 100,000 for males and 1,781 for females).
- For both males and females, rates of hospitalised injury were highest in people aged 65 and over. Males had higher rates of hospitalised injury than females in all age groups from 0–64, but from the age of 65, females had a higher rate, with females aged 85 and over having much higher rates than males.
- The age-standardised rate of hospitalised injury for Indigenous Australians was almost double (3,903 per 100,000) that for non-Indigenous Australians (1,991).
- The age-standardised rate of injury in Very remote regions (4,313 per 100,000 population) was more than double the rate in Major cities (1,901).
- The age-standardised rate of hospitalised injury increased with decreasing socioeconomic position—from 1,892 per 100,000 in the highest socioeconomic areas, to 2,118 in the lowest socioeconomic areas.
See Hospital care.