Fall Injuries in Australia | Report

FALL INJURIES IN AUSTRALIA1
Fall Injuries in Australia
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Note

FALL INJURIES IN AUSTRALIA2
Contents
Fall Injuries in Australia.............................................................................................................3
Description of the Issue..........................................................................................................3
Statistics in Australia..............................................................................................................3
Statistics in Indigenous Australians...................................................................................3
Statistics for another Country (U.S.A)...................................................................................4
Prevention and Management..................................................................................................4
Conclusion..............................................................................................................................6
Reference....................................................................................................................................7

FALL INJURIES IN AUSTRALIA3
Fall Injuries in Australia
Injuries may be caused by several issues. Falling is one of the most common causes of
injury. This essay will focus on the topic of injury by falls, its overall statistics, prevention
strategies and role of healthcare professionals in the management of the issue.
Description of the Issue
Injuries acquired by fall is one of the most common cause of morbidity in many
countries. Falling is the cause of a majority of hospitalized injuries, and common commonly
occurs in older adults.
Statistics in Australia
In Australia, injury was found to be major cause of death. Around 327% of total
injuries were estimated due to falls. In the year 2014-2015, the proportion of deaths due to
injuries by fall was 27% in the male population, which increased to a whopping 53% in the
female population. Around 41% of the hospitalisations due to injury was caused by falls.
Overall, males had a higher injury rate than that of females, and fall injuries increased
tremendously in age groups above 75 (Aihw.gov.au., 2020).

FALL INJURIES IN AUSTRALIA4
Figure 1: Percentage of Fall Injury according to Sex
Statistics in Indigenous Australians
The injuries in Aboriginals and Torres Strait Islanders were higher than the general
population. It was seen that around 23,000 cases of hospitalization was recorded due to
injuries. Around 22% of all the injuries were acquired due to fall (Australian Institute of
Health and Welfare., 2020).
“Age-standardised rates of injury deaths for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander
people were twice the rate for non-Indigenous people (97 and 48 deaths per 100,000
population, respectively)”
(Aihw.gov.au., 2020)
Statistics for another Country (U.S.A)
In the U.S., around 800,000 patients are hospitalized each year due to fall injury. It
has been seen that older people (65 years or older) are the most common victims of fall
injuries and about one out of five of them suffer from serious injuries such as broken bones or
brain injury (Cdc.gov., 2020). Falling down is the major cause of injuries in ageing adults –
fatal or nonfatal in nature (Bergen, Stevens & Burns, 2016).