Injury hospitalisation rates in Victoria, 1987-97: trends, age and gender patterns

To estimate the injury hospitalisation trends and the age and gender patterns in Victoria between 1987/88 and 1996/97.

The Victorian Injury Surveillance System maintains a collection of injury hospitalisation records in Victoria. We used loglinear models for rates to estimate the temporal trends and patterns by age group and gender of all-injury and cause-specific injury hospitalisation rates.

The all-injury hospitalisation rate appeared stable until 1992/93, after which it increased substantially (1993/94 was 1.13 times that of 1987/88). While motor vehicle crash and fire/burn/scald injury hospitalisation rates decreased substantially, suicide attempt and self-inflicted injury hospitalisation rates more than doubled. The all-injury hospitalisation rate was highest for persons 75 years of age and older. Females had a lower all-injury hospitalisation rate than males up to 60-64 years of age and a higher rate thereafter. The cause-specific injury hospitalisation rates showed various age and gender patterns.

Substantial increases in the all-injury hospitalisation rate were observed after the introduction of the casemix funding policy to public hospitals. There were remarkable variations in temporal trend and age and gender patterns of injury hospitalisation rates by cause of injury.

Hospitalised injuries generally are serious and incur high cost. Certain injury causes and age and gender groups should receive particular attention for prevention efforts. The use of injury surveillance based on hospitalisation records should be improved and further expanded.