Unintentional falls continues to be the leading cause of injuries requiring hospitalisation, according to the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW).

 

The Hospital separations due to injury and poising report shows that there were an estimated 420,000 injury cases requiring hospitalisation in the 2009-10 period, representing 1,858 cases per 100,000 people.

 

“Of the 420,000 hospitalised injuries in 2009-10, 38% of these were due to falls, the same proportion as in 2008-09,” said AIHW spokesperson Professor James Harrison.

 

More females were hospitalised due to falls than males (90,100 cases compared with 71,000 cases). Overall, however, more than half of all hospitalised injury cases-around 242,500-involved men.

 

The second most common cause of hospitalised injury was transport accidents, accounting for 13% of cases. More than twice as many males as females were hospitalised for a transport injury (37,100 compared with 17,000). The rate was highest for both males and females in the 15-19 years age group.

 

Rates of injury increased with geographical remoteness. The lowest rate of 1,728 cases per 100,000 population occurred inMajor cities in Australia, while the highest (3,857 cases per 100,000 population) occurred in Very remote Australia.

 

The full report can be found here