For more detail, see Data tables A1–3 and D1–3.
There are many ways that the severity, or seriousness, of an injury can be measured. Using available data, three measures of the severity of hospitalised injuries are:
- number of days in hospital
- time in an intensive care unit (ICU)
- time on a ventilator.
The average number of days in hospital for accidental poisoning was less than the average for all injury hospitalisations, but the percentage of cases that included either time in an ICU or on continuous ventilatory support were higher than for all (Table 4).
Table 4: Severity of accidental poisoning hospitalisation cases, 2019–20
|
Accidental poisoning
|
All injuries
|
Average number of days in hospital
|
2.3
|
4.5
|
% of cases with time in an ICU
|
10.6
|
2.4
|
% of cases involving continuous ventilatory support
|
8.0
|
1.4
|
Note: Average number of days in hospital (length of stay) includes admissions that are transfers from 1 hospital to another or transfers from 1 admitted care type to another within the same hospital, except where care involves rehabilitation procedures.
Source: AIHW National Hospital Morbidity Database.
For more detail, see Data tables A12–13.
In 2019–20, among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people:
- there were 881 hospitalisations and 93 deaths due to accidental poisoning (Tables 5 and 6)
- males were 1.1 times as likely as females to be hospitalised and 1.4 times as likely to die due to accidental poisoning
- hospitalisation rates were highest for children aged 0–4.
Table 5: Numbers and rates of accidental poisoning hospitalisation by sex, Indigenous Australians, 2019–20
|
Males
|
Females
|
Persons
|
Number
|
454
|
427
|
881
|
Rate (per 100,000)
|
106
|
100
|
103
|
Note: Persons includes cases where sex is intersex, indeterminate or missing.
Source: AIHW National Hospital Morbidity Database.
Table 6: Numbers and rates of accidental poisoning death by sex, Indigenous Australians, 2019–20
|
Males
|
Females
|
Persons
|
Number
|
55
|
38
|
93
|
Rate (per 100,000)
|
14.6
|
10.1
|
12.4
|
Notes
- Rates are crude per 100,000 population.
- Deaths data only includes data for New South Wales, Queensland, Western Australia, South Australia, and the Northern Territory.
Source: AIHW National Hospital Morbidity Database.
For more detail, see Data tables A4–5 and D4-5.
Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians
In 2019–20, Indigenous Australians, compared with non-Indigenous Australians, after adjusting for differences in population age structure, were:
- 2.9 times as likely to be hospitalised due to accidental poisoning (Table 7)
- 2.9 times as likely to die because of accidental poisoning (Table 8).
Table 7: Age-standardised rates (per 100,000) of accidental poisoning hospitalisation by Indigenous status and sex, 2019–20
|
Males
|
Females
|
Persons
|
Indigenous Australians
|
115
|
108
|
112
|
Non-Indigenous Australians
|
44
|
34
|
39
|
Notes
- Rates are age-standardised to the 2001 Australian population (per 100,000).
- ‘Other Australians’ includes cases where Indigenous status is missing or not stated.
Source: AIHW National Hospital Morbidity Database.
Table 8: Age-standardised rates (per 100,000) of accidental poisoning death by Indigenous status and sex, 2019–20
|
Males
|
Females
|
Persons
|
Indigenous Australians
|
18.2
|
13.4
|
15.8
|
Non-Indigenous Australians
|
7.8
|
2.9
|
5.4
|
Notes
- Rates are age-standardised to the 2001 Australian population (per 100,000).
- ‘Non-Indigenous Australians’ excludes cases where Indigenous status is missing or not stated.
- Deaths data only includes data for New South Wales, Queensland, Western Australia, South Australia, and the Northern Territory.
Source: AIHW National Mortality Database.
For more detail, see Data tables A6 and D8.
The age-specific rate of accidental poisoning injury hospitalisation cases was highest among the 0–4 life-stage age group for both Indigenous and other Australians (Figure 4). Deaths data are not presented because of small numbers.
Figure 4: Accidental poisoning hospitalisations by Indigenous status, by age group and sex, 2019–20