[Results of Emergency Department Based Injury In-depth Surveillance, 2011 and 2021]

Injury means physical or psychological damage from accidents or addictions. Mortalities from injuries account for half of the deaths in teenagers and people in their 30s, affecting the loss of working age population. The Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency created a monitoring system to investigate injury accidents and develop preventive measures. The Emergency Department based Injury In-depth Surveillance is one of the key Injury investigation and monitoring projects that, inspects the causes and features of injuries that patients have. This data shows the types of injured patients from 2011 to 2021 and aims to provide the causes of injuries and present the data to prevent them. In 2021, the total injured patients were at a record low of 190,496. In 2011, male patients still accounted for a higher percentage than females. However, there were more patients aged ≥60 years in 2021 than in 2011, while the percentage of teenage patients decreased. Unintentional injuries accounted for 90.4% of cases, while intentional injuries made up the rest. Within intentional injuries, suicide attempts and self-harm by teenagers (5.2%p) and people in their 20s (9.2%p) increased in 2021 compared to 2011. Blunt injuries and transportation accidents have decreased, but falls and fall-related injuries have increased. Injuries occurred most frequently in homes (47.7%), on the roads (22.4%), and in commercial facilities (8.6%). In particular what we know is that people in their 60s are vulnerable to falls and fall-related injuries and teenagers to suicide and self-injury, which prompts the requirement of social safety net installations.