Appendix C: Injury death counts by reference year and ABS release
As described in Appendix A, the ABS has released more than 1 version of the CODURF for 2006 and later. Changed coding in later releases reflects the additional information that becomes available for some deaths, most often reflecting completion of coronial investigation and reporting of deaths.
This appendix provides a summary of case counts in each release for all external causes of injury, and for each of the major groups of external causes that are the subject of sections in this report.
For reference years 1999–2005, only a single version of the mortality data was released by the ABS. For reference year 2006, initial and final releases of data were made. For more recent reference years, the ABS has made 3 releases: Preliminary, Revised and Final. All 3 releases of data were available for reference years 2007–2014.
The reference year is usually the year in which a death is registered, and when the registration data were received by the ABS. In some instances, a reference year file might include deaths registered in years before the reference year, but not received by the ABS until the reference year or the first quarter of the subsequent year. For further information about reference year, refer to the ‘Explanatory notes’ of the ABS report Causes of death, Australia, 2013 (ABS 2015).
Figure C.1 shows counts for all injury and selected causes of injury by CODURF releases for ABS reference years 1999–2014. The difference between the Preliminary and Final counts for unintentional transport injuries fell from 375 in 2007 to 32 in 2014, while this difference for Unintentional poisoning by pharmaceuticals fell from 242 in 2008 to 47 in 2014. These outcomes suggest that Preliminary counts in the years towards the end of the period more accurately reflect true counts. Differences between Preliminary and Final counts for All injury and Unintentional drowning were less pronounced.
Figure C.2 shows counts for selected causes of injury by CODURF releases for ABS reference years 1999–2014. Generally, differences between Preliminary and Final counts were not pronounced for the 4 external cause categories shown in this figure. Notable differences between the Initial and Final counts in 2006 were seen for Unintentional poisoning by other substances and Other unintentional injury.
Figure C.3 shows counts for selected causes of injury by CODURF releases for ABS reference years 1999–2014. The difference between the Preliminary and Final counts for suicide fell from 347 in 2007 to 58 in 2014, while the difference between the Preliminary and Final counts for homicide fell from 54 in 2011 to 38 in 2014. The difference between the Preliminary and Final counts for deaths where intent was undetermined fell from 727 in 2007 to 99 in 2014, suggesting that deaths in the Preliminary release of data registered in the years from about 2012 onwards were more likely to be assigned to the correct intent (for example, suicide, homicide) than deaths registered in previous years.
Figure C.1: Counts of injury deaths for All injury, Unintentional transport injury, Unintentional drowning, and Unintentional poisoning involving pharmaceuticals, by reference year and CODURF release, 1999–2014
P = Preliminary CODURF
R = Revised CODURF
F = Final CODURF
Note: Periods are reference years. The first 2006 CODURF is referred to as the Initial release.
Source: ABS 2000–2017b.
Figure C.2: Counts of injury deaths for Poisoning involving other substances, Unintentional fall injury, Unintentional thermal injury, and Other unintentional injury, by reference year and CODURF release, 1999–2014
P = Preliminary CODURF
R = Revised CODURF
F = Final CODURF
Note: Periods are reference years. The first 2006 CODURF is referred to as the Initial release.
Source: ABS 2000–2017b.
Figure C.3: Counts of injury deaths for Suicide, Homicide, and Undetermined intent, by reference year and CODURF release, 1999–2014
P = Preliminary CODURF
R = Revised CODURF
F = Final CODURF
Note: Periods are reference years. The first 2006 CODURF is referred to as the Initial release.
Source: ABS 2000–2017b.
Table C.1 shows counts by major external cause groups at Final release for deaths registered in 2014 that were assigned a non-injury UCoD code in the Preliminary release, and were subsequently reassigned an injury UCoD code in the Final release.
More than 32% (41) of these deaths were assigned an UCoD code for Falls, and 21% (27) an UCoD code for Poisoning by pharmaceuticals in the final release. Almost 60% (76) were assigned an UCoD code of R99 Other ill-defined and unspecified causes of mortality in the Preliminary release.
|
Major external cause group (Final release) |
Number | % |
|---|---|---|
|
Transportation |
5 |
3.9 |
|
Drowning |
4 | 3.2 |
| Poisoning, pharmaceuticals | 27 | 21.2 |
|
Poisoning, other substances |
3 | 2.4 |
| Falls | 41 | 32.3 |
| Other unintentional | 16 | 12.6 |
| Intentional, self-inflicted | 7 | 5.5 |
| Intentional, inflicted by another | 17 | 13.4 |
| Undetermined intent | 7 | 5.5 |
| Total | 127(b) | 100.0 |
Notes:
- ‘Injury’ is defined as deaths assigned an UCoD code in the range V01–Y36.
- Includes 76 deaths assigned an UCoD code of R99 in the Preliminary release.
Source: ABS 2017.
Table C.2 shows counts by major external cause groups at Preliminary release for deaths registered in 2012 that were assigned an injury UCoD code at the time of the Preliminary release, and were subsequently reassigned a non-injury UCoD code at the time of the Final release.
Almost 29% (6) of these deaths were assigned an UCoD code for Undetermined intent at the time of the Preliminary release, while 24% (5) were assigned an UCoD code of R99 Other ill-defined and unspecified causes of mortality at the time of the Final release.
|
Major external cause group (Preliminary release) |
Number | % |
|---|---|---|
|
Drowning |
1 | 4.8 |
| Poisoning, pharmaceuticals | 1 | 4.8 |
| Falls | 4 | 19.1 |
| Other unintentional | 6 | 28.6 |
| Intentional, self-inflicted | 1 | 4.8 |
| Intentional, inflicted by another | 2 | 9.5 |
| Undetermined intent | 6 | 28.6 |
| Total | 21(b) | 100.0 |
Notes:
- ‘Injury’ is defined as deaths assigned an UCoD code in the range V01–Y36.
- Includes 5 deaths assigned an UCoD code of R99 in the Final release.
Source: ABS 2017.