For information on how statistics by remoteness are calculated, see Technical notes.
For more detailed data, see Data tables A7–9, B7–9 and C7–8.
Socioeconomic position
Table 6 shows the number of older Australians hospitalised for a fall by the socioeconomic position of the area they live in. This approach divides Australia into five socioeconomic groups, which each comprise 20% of Australia’s areas, ranging from 1 – the 20% of areas with least disadvantage to 5 – the 20% of areas with the most disadvantage.
In general, the rate of fall hospitalisations among Australians aged 65 and over was higher for people living in areas of least socioeconomic disadvantage and lower for those living in areas of most socioeconomic disadvantage (Table 6). The highest rate was for those living in the second-least disadvantaged areas, who were 1.2 times as likely to be hospitalised due to a fall than those living in the most disadvantaged areas.
The rate of fall deaths was highest for those living in the second-most disadvantaged areas, who were 1.2 times likely to die from a fall compared to those living in the least disadvantaged areas. This trend varies from hospitalisations (Table 6).
Table 6: Age-standardised rates (per 100,000) of falls injury hospitalisations and deaths by socioeconomic position, 65 years and over, 2019–20
|
Hospitalisations (per 100,000)
|
Deaths (per 100,000)
|
1 – Most disadvantaged
|
2,810
|
114
|
2
|
3,164
|
125
|
3
|
3,361
|
117
|
4
|
3,440
|
112
|
5 – Least disadvantaged
|
3,366
|
100
|
Source: AIHW National Hospital Morbidity Database.
Note: This is the age standardised rate per 100,000 people aged 65 and over in the estimated resident population of Australia, by SEIFA categories.
For information on how statistics by socio-economic position are calculated, see Technical notes.
For more detailed data, see Data tables A10–12 and B10–12.