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This report is intended to provide a guide to statistical methods for injury surveillance. It includes chapters on the use and presentation of confidence intervals, the direct and indirect method of age standardisation and considerations when case numbers are small, tests for measuring trend over time, and regression analyses of mortality rates. It provides worked examples of calculations and methods using Stata statistical software. This report is a summary of issues pertinent to the type of work undertaken by the AIHW National Injury Surveillance Unit. The report will be relevant to anyone with a basic or intermediate knowledge of statistics.

A review of suicide statistics in Australia is a detailed report on the statistical processes used to track national suicide rates. Suicide is a matter of considerable public interest and policy significance so reliable statistical information on suicide occurrence is important. This report examines in detail the current methodologies used to track suicide rates, identifying issues with the process of suicide reporting and the extent of, and reason for, any under-enumeration of suicide. Revised estimates are provided and the report provides advice for the future statistical monitoring of suicide and self harm in Australia. This report provides a unique insight into the limitations of current data on suicide rates.

A statistical report on hospitalised injury cases in Australia in 1991/92 where the injured person was recorded as being an Australian Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander. Includes cautions about data quality.

The most common agent of poisoning amongst preschoolers admitted to hospital in Australia was the group of aromatic analgesics including paracetamol. However, the more important agents, in terms of health burden, were anticoagulant medications, tranquillisers, barbiturates and antipsychotic and neuroepileptic medications. Thankfully, very few preschoolers die from medicinal poisoning in Australia. The low severity of medicinal poisoning's could reflect the effectiveness of the legislative controls on the availability of poisons in Australia. The hospitalisation rate of preschoolers from medicinal poisoning was higher in rural and remote areas than in urban areas. This result does not seem to reflect differential hospital admission practices, because there were no significant differences in the length of stay distributions by area. It is likely to reflect a higher incidence of poisoning in rural and remote areas.

Poisoning of children aged 0-4 years (preschoolers) from nonmedicinal substances is very rarely a cause of death in Australia. Although poisoning from such substances is a common cause of admission to hospital for this age group, few cases require any surgical or other procedures and length of stay is almost always very short. This suggests that a high proportion of cases are admitted for observation following suspected ingestion of a harmful substance, rather than because of evidence of toxic effects. The incidence rate of poisoning of preschoolers from nonmedicinal substances, based on hospitalisations, was higher in the country than in the city, particularly from rodenticides and 'other plants', but also from detergents, shampoos, other cleaning and polishing agent, petrol, solvents, organophosphate insecticides, and corrosive and caustic substances. This is the first time that such differentials have been reported in the medical literature. Rodenticide poisoning's are discussed in some detail as they are common and potentially severe.

Alcohol is a major cause of mortality and morbidity in Australia, with an estimated 3,290 deaths in 1997 and 72,302 hospit alisations in 1996-97 attributable to high-risk drinking according to the National Alcohol Indicators bulletin number 1 (Chik ritzhs, Jonas et al. 1999).

An objective of the Plan for Action 2001 to 2003-04 of the National Alcohol Strategy is to reduce injuries and fatalities in the aquatic environment (Department of Health and Aged Care 2001).

This report was prepared in response to an invitation to examine the role of alcohol in drowning and other types of injury associated with recreational aquatic activities. The purpose of this report is to collate available information, including n ew sources, to support priority setting and policy formulation. The report specifically aimed to provide:

• A statistical description of the burden of alcohol-related drowning and near-drowning in Australia based on an attributab le fractions method and published estimated fractions
• Analysis of National Coroners Information System (NCIS) data on the involvement of alcohol in drowning deaths and deaths associated with recreational boating (whether by drowning or not).
• An assessment of the potential value and feasibility of collecting data on alcohol-relatedness as part of emergency depar tment surveillance of drowning and near-drowning cases.
• A review of literature concerning alcohol as a risk factor for drowning, near- drowning and other serious injury sustaine d during swimming and other water-related activities, particularly including recreational aquatic activity; and interventions against these risks.

Little is known regarding the alcohol consumption patterns of the Australian workforce and the impact these patterns have on workplace safety, workplace productivity, and worker well-being. This report addresses this lack of knowledge and represents one of the most comprehensive examinations of the role of alcohol in the Australian workplace undertaken to date. Current data and research literature is examined to provide a comprehensive overview of the relationship between the workplace and alcohol use, the alcohol consumption patterns of the Australian workforce, and evidence of the extent of alcohol-related injury in the workplace. A focus was placed on the concept of workplace culture, which allows for innovative, broader and more flexible approaches to work-related alcohol use. The contents of this report provide an essential building block upon which to develop relevant policies and interventions related to workplace alcohol consumption.

This report aims to describe what is known about the occurrence of alcohol related injury (ARI) in young males; to outline current knowledge about reducing ARI in young males; to highlight important gaps in the data; and to indicate ways forward.

Maps and tables showing how injury mortality varies by area in Australia. This report is based on deaths in the three years 1990 to 1992.Maps and tables showing how injury mortality varies by area in Australia. This report is based on deaths in the three years 1990 to 1992.

Emergency department data was used to undertake a comparison of the risk of injuries related to baby walkers compared to several other nursery products: high chairs, strollers, changing tables, prams and cots, baby exercisers and playpens. All of the products in the comparison show a much lower frequency of injuries for the target age group than baby walkers. The report was prepared in response to a request from one of the Centre's clients.

This brief report summarises information in relation to 303 cases of emergency department presentation by children aged 0-9 years who had swallowed a battery. It was written in response to a specific question from one of the Centre's clients.

This brief report summarises information regarding the malfunction of a range of bicycle parts: brakes, wheels, chains or gears, pedals, handlebars and saddles. The information was derived from a random sample of cases of emergency department presentation where a bicycle part had been coded as having failed or malfunctioned. It was written in response to a specific question from one of the Centre's clients.

A statistical survey of major causes of injury deaths in Australia in 1993. Includes rates by sex, age, year, and State or Territory.

A statistical assessment of injury and its causes among young men in Australia, based on data available in 1995.

While injury rates among women overall are lower than those for men, injury is still an important public health problem for women. This Bulletin considers patterns of injury to women, using available death, hospitalisation and emergency department data, together with relevant literature, to identify and describe several issues of particular importance for women.

A statistical survey of major causes of injury deaths in Australia in 1994. Includes rates by sex, age, year, and State or Territory.

An assessment of the availability and quality of data on injury among Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, as at 1996.

Published in 1997, this bulletin seeks to document the major interventions that were put in place from 1979 to 1996 and to detail the trends in child injury patterns over that period. It is apparent that injury patterns among children have changed. The available data is used to consider possible priorities for further work.

Presents statistics on the epidemiology of spinal cord injury in Australia.

A statistical survey of major causes of injury deaths in Australia in 1995. Includes rates by sex, age, year, and State or Territory.

Statistical information on spinal injury in Australia during 1996/97

A statistical survey of major causes of injury deaths in Australia in 1996.

A statistical overview of major causes of injury deaths in Australia in 1997.

Presents statistics on the epidemiology of spinal cord injury in Australia.

Presents statistics on the epidemiology of spinal cord injury in Australia.

A statistical overview of suicide in Australia. Based on data available in 2000.

Statistical information and data issues on horse-related injuries in Australia

A statistical report comparing injury mortality in urban, rural and remote parts of Australia, based on data for the three years 1990-1992.

This Bulletin provides an overview of the extent and nature of injury experienced by unprotected road-users (ie. motorcyclists, pedal cyclists & pedestrians) in 1991

This briefing describes hospitalised burn injuries in Australia during the five years to 30 June 2004. It focuses on the external causes of injury, considering several population groups at special risk of this type of injury. A succinct literature review relates the data findings to other research, and considers burns first-aid.

This report describes how the injury experience of some small remote indigenous communities on Cape York was documented. The project was undertaken to assist indigenous people and others to better understand injuries in Australian indigenous communities as a basis for better prevention. Specifically, it shows how a range of information gathering techniques can provide a profile of injury that complements existing data sets, identifies areas where under-counting is likely in those collections, and provides a rich basis for the planning of injury prevention strategies at the local and regional level.

This is a statistical report on fall-related injury among children aged 0–14 years. It describes the epidemiology of childhood falls resulting in death and hospital admission, as well as the profile of cases seen at emergency departments in a large number of Victorian hospitals. The report discusses the strengths and weaknesses of the three data sources used in regard to injury surveillance of fall-related injury among children. It also highlights the impact of the transition to ICD-10(-AM). It will be relevant to those interested in childhood injury, including community practitioners, health planners and administrators, academic researchers and the public.

Falls are the most common cause of injuries leading children to be admitted to hospital. Falls occurring in playgrounds in the 0*14 years age group resulted in 12,091 hospitalisation cases from July 2002*June 2004.Of the several types of playground equipment able to be distinguished, climbing apparatus and trampolines stand out in term of case numbers. Fractures were the largest injury type (85.2% of cases).

Poisoning, or concern over the possibility of poisoning, is a common reason for admitting young children to hospital in Australia. Most of the episodes are brief, with children being discharged home. This is a condition of toddlers when most babies become mobile, peaking in the second year of life for cases involving non-pharmaceutical substances, and the following year for those involving pharmaceuticals. While the great majority of these cases come to nothing or resolve quickly and completely, a few are more serious: 35 children remained in hospital for more than a week, and five died in hospital. Child-resistant packaging is an important risk reduction technique for this type of injury.

Responding to the initiative of coroners in Australia, the National Injury Surveillance Unit agreed to undertake a feasibility study for a national coronial information system. This paper contains the results of this investigation.

Estimates of the cost of injury in Australia, based on a cost model developed for Victoria.

This report presents national statistics on deaths and hospitalisations due to drowning for the five-year period 1999-00 to 2003-04. Drowning occurs in a number of settings and contexts: in bodies of natural water, in swimming pools and bathtubs, in association with watercraft and as the result of intentional self-harm. Drownings resulting in death and hospitalisation are described in relation to these in terms of case numbers and rates, by age and sex, remoteness of usual residence, length of tay in hospital, and other characteristics. This report will be relevant to anyone interested in gaining an insight into patterns of fatal and non-fatal drowning and the burden they impose on the Australian community.

Fractures are the commonest type of injury that results in admission to a hospital in Australia. This report describes injury cases hospitalised in Australia during the financial year 2001-02 that involved fractures. The report provides an overview of hospitalised fractures in terms of case numbers and rates, demographic characteristics of patients, circumstances of occurrence and types of case. This report will be useful for injury prevention and control initiatives, as well as forming a basis for more specific investigations.

This Directory has been compiled to serve as a tool for networking between those individuals and organisations working or interested in the field of injury control.

This brief report summarises information on dog bites derived from three separate data sources: Emergency department presentations, hospitalisations and deaths. It was written in response to frequent requests for information on this issue.

This report on dog-related injury is the second in a new series of statistical reports from the National Injury Surveillance Unit. Under the title NISU Briefing, these reports are designed to be short, accessible and focused on a specific topic. They will be released primarily in electronic form. The NISU Briefing on dog-related injury uses deaths and hospitalisations data for Australia to examine patterns of injury from dog bites and other types of dog-related attacks.

A little over one-quarter of all drowning deaths in Australia and one eighth of hospitalised non-fatal drowning cases occur at ages 55 years and older. This report describes the occurrence of such cases during several years (nine for deaths and five for hospitalised cases). It also describes hospitalised non-drowning injuries in relation to aquatic activities and places.

This Briefing provides an overview of hospitalisations and deaths occurring as a result of electrical injury or exposure to lightning. Serious electrical injuries are relatively infrequent and injuries occurring as a result of lightning are extremely rare events. Over the two year period 2002–03 to 2003–04 only 1,493 people were hospitalised as a result of an electrical injury at an age-adjusted rate of 3.78 cases per 100,000 population. Deaths occurring as a result of electrical injury or lightning are even rarer with 162 cases in the four years examined (2001–04).

A review and assessment of methods which have been or could be used to evaluate injury prevention initiatives. Includes annotated examples.

Cases of occupational eye injury were found to have occurred despite use of approved safety eyewear. Includes recommendations on eyewear standards, design and use.

Reducing preventable vision loss has recently been identified as a priority by Australian governments and non-government organisations. Eye injuries in Australia is the third in a series of national reports providing an overview of eye health in Australia. This report presents eye injuries from the perspectives of hospitalisations, general practice consultations, emergency department attendances, workers' compensation claims, and also as reported in national surveys. This report is an invaluable resource for policy-makers, health professionals, advocacy groups and others interested in knowing more about eye injuries in Australia.

The ageing of the Australian population has enlarged the population at high risk of fall-related injury and population projections imply substantial increase in years to come. A large proportion of Australia’s older population were born overseas and changing migration patterns following the Second World War have resulted in an older population which is becoming highly culturally and linguistically diverse. This report examines fall-related hospitalisations for people aged 65 and older for the years 2000-03 according to country of birth and place of usual residence.

A surveillance report on injuries due to falls in Australian elderly people. It uses deaths and hospitalisation data and provides information on case numbers, rates and trends.

Firearms have been a major cause of death over the years. Available deaths data covering the period 1979-2002 show that, in 1987, the year in which the highest number of firearm-related deaths was recorded, there were 711 such fatalities. Hospitalisations data covering a recent one-year period (2001-2002) record 443 cases of firearm-related hospitalisation over that period. These deaths and hospitalisations are described below.

Deaths due to firearm shooting in Australia since 1979.

The incidence of hip fractures is rising and projected for further increase in Australia due to the population growth in the oldest age groups, where hip fractures are the most common form of fracture. During the 12 month period 2002-03, an estimated 18,616 individuals were hospitalised, and 1,582 people died after sustaining a hip fracture. Hip fractures impose a heavy burden on the health system.

This is the first statistical report on national hospital separations due to injury and poisoning by NISU. The report focuses mainly on data for the financial year 1998-99 and includes information on external causes of injury and principal diagnoses of injuries treated during hospitalisation. It also addresses some of the issues associated with reporting these data, especially during the ICD-9-CM and ICD-10-AM transitional period. It will be relevant to those interested in national hospitalisations due to injury and poisoning, including community practitioners, health planners and administrators, and the public. The data issues section will also be important for academic and health researchers who utilise hospital separations data

This statistical report on national hospital separations due to injury and poisoning focuses mainly on data for the financial year 1999-00. It includes information on external causes of injury and principal diagnosis of injuries treated during hospitalisation. The report will be relevant to those interested in national hospitalisations due to injury and poisoning, including community practitioners, health planners and administrators, and the public. The data issues section will also be important for academic and health researchers who utilise hospital separations data.

This report presents national statistics on injuries that resulted in admission to hospitals in Australia. It includes cases discharged during the year to 30 June 2002. The report has been designed to complement Injury Deaths, Australia 2002. Falls, transport-related injury, intentional self-harm and assault are common causes of hospitalised injury in the Australian community. Injuries due to these and other causes are described, in terms of case numbers and rates, by age and sex, remoteness of usual residence, length of stay in hospital, external causes of injury, and other characteristics. The report will be relevant to anyone interested in gaining an insight into patterns of injury morbidity and the burden it imposes on the Australian community.

This report presents national statistics on injuries that resulted in admission to hospitals in Australia. It includes cases discharged during the year to 30 June 2004. The report has been designed to complement Injury deaths, Australia 2003/04. Falls, transport-related injury, intentional self-harm and assault are common causes of hospitalised injury in the Australian community. Injuries due to these and other causes are described, in terms of case numbers and rates, by age and sex, remoteness of usual residence, length of stay in hospital, external causes of injury, and other characteristics. The report will be relevant to anyone interested in gaining an insight into patterns of injury morbidity and the burden it imposes on the Australian community.

This report presents national statistics on injuries that resulted in admission to hospitals in Australia. It includes cases discharged during the year to 30 June 2005. Unintentional falls, transport-related injury, intentional self-harm and assault are common causes of hospitalised injury in the Australian community. Injuries due to these and other causes are described, in terms of case numbers and rates, by age and sex, place of usual residence, length of stay in hospital and other characteristics. Injuries sustained while working for income or while engaged in sporting activities are also described. The report will be relevant to anyone interested in gaining an insight into patterns of injury morbidity and the burden it imposes on the Australian community.

This report describes hospitalisations for Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) in Australia for the period 2004–2005. TBI, as distinct from head injury, is characterised by an external impact to the head that results in damage to the brain. TBI is defined in this report by the presence in hospital separation records of at least one ICD-10-AM code in the S06 intracranial injury range, occurring in at least one of fifty available diagnosis fields. The 22,710 records meeting this criterion were analysed in three groups, according to the prominence of TBI in the record. Analysis and description of combinations of injury types resulting in TBI admissions to a hospital are reported, including discussion of severity of injury, and cost and burden on the systems for acute care and rehabilitation. About 980 (4.3% of cases) deaths in hospital were reported. Direct costs for hospital care for TBI separations were estimated to be more than $184 million.

This report examines the incidence of traumatic brain injury (TBI) in Australia in 1997-98, based on hospital separation data. It shows that TBI accounted for 7 per cent of all injury hospital separations. It also includes data on the age-s tandardised rate of TBI and the main causes of TBI among different age groups (t he male rate was higher than the female rate in most age groups). Statistically significant state rate differences were recorded overall, but not among very severe cases. A recent decline in th erate of TBI was also noted but requires further assessment.

This report is the second in a series of biennial reports on hospitalisations due to falls by older people in Australia. The report focuses on hospitalised falls occurring in the financial year 2005–06 and examines trends in fall-related hospitalisations over the period 1999-2006. The number of fall events resulting in hospitalisation due to injury for older Australians remains high and the rate of fall-related injury incidents is particularly high for the oldest group within this population. As in the previous report, older females accounted for most of the hospitalised fall injury cases and a third of cases had injuries to the hip and thigh. Half of all fall injury cases for people aged 65 years and older occurred in the home. Falls in residential institutions were also common. Age-standardised rates of hospitalised fall-related injury separations have increased over the seven year study period to June 2006, despite a decrease in the rate for femur fractures due to falls. The estimated total length of stay per fall injury case has also increased over the period 1999-2006, apparently influenced by increases in the number of bed-days used by episodes of fall-related follow-up care.

This report examines Australian hospital data pertaining to fall injuries in people aged 65 and older in 2003-04. The number of fall events resulting in hospitalisation due to injury for older Australians remains high and the rate of fall-related injury incidents is particularly high for the oldest group within this population. Women are at greatest risk of fall-related injury. Fall incidents most commonly result in a fracture and hip fractures are particularly frequent. This report also highlights that a substantial proportion of fall-related injuries are injuries to the head, which may require more specifically-targeted prevention interventions. Multiple hospital separations due to a single fall incident substantially add to the burden of disease for older Australians. Separations principally involving follow-up care, rehabilitation and other fall-related conditions contributed 136% more bed-days than those occupied due to initial episodes due to fall injury incidents and brought the total number of fall-related hospital bed-days for people aged 65 and older in 2003-04 to over 1.2 million. The estimated total cost for fall-related acute care in Australian hospitals for people aged 65 and older in 2003-04 was $566.0 million. This represents a substantial proportion of the burden of disease and health expenditure for this population and suggests that the lifetime cost of falls in older people may be substantially higher than has been previously calculated.

This briefing is a short overview of basketball and netball related hospitalisations in Australia in the 2002–2003 financial year. It is an extension of the basketball and netball chapter found in the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare report by the same authors on hospitalised sports injury.

This briefing covers hospitalised injury to children and young people on farms during the period 2000-01 to 2004-05. It focuses on the injury experiences of four age groups: 0-4 years, 5-9 years, 10-14 years, and 15-19 years.

This briefing provides an overview of football-related hospitalisations during 2004-05. Injuries sustained while playing football accounted for 31% (n=14,147) of all sports and leisure-related hospitalisations during this period. Australian football accounted for 30%, soccer for 24%, and rugby for 21% of all football-related hospitalisations. Over 90% of those hospitalised were aged 34 years or younger while 93% were males. Knee, lower leg and head were the most common regions injured, accounting for 48% of all hospitalisations. Fractures were by far the most common type of injury, accounting for 56% of all hospital admissions. The mean number of bed days for all hospitalisations due to football-related injury was 1.85 days. The estimated direct cost of football-related hospitalisations was close to $44 million.

This is a technical report on Australian hospital separations due to injury and poisoning for 2000-01 and 2001-02, focussing on cases identified as being Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander persons. It follows on from a previous report (Helps & Harrison 2004), examining patterns of injury mortality for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. The report focuses on a region consisting of grouped jurisdictions of better quality of Indigenous ascertainment in hospital separations data (SA, WA, NT, Qld). Injury hospital admissions have been examined to determine relationships with remoteness of place of usual residence and types of external cause of injury, and age and sex.

It is common for persons participating in sport to be injured. Only a minority of these injuries require hospitalisation. However, hospitalised injuries are usually more severe and costly than others. This report describes hospitalised sports injury in 2002–2003, in Australia. Fourteen sports groupings are reviewed in detail, including football, water sports, cycling and roller sports. Topics covered for these groupings include body region most frequently injured, type of injury and mechanism of injury, age and sex. It is of relevance to both health personnel and sporting bodies.

The WHO Working Group on Injury Surveillance Methods (WGISM) tested a draft of the International Classification of External Causes of Injury (ICECI) during 1999. This report describes the outcome of one part of this project, i.e. the testing of 100 case scenarios. The purpose of the case scenario testing was to provide initial evidence of the performance of the draft ICECI. The report includes description of the the methods used to conduct the study and to analyse the results.

Despite limitations it is clear that injury mortality and morbidity rates are several times higher for Indigenous Australians than for other Australians. This report is a survey and assessment of information sources which are being used to inform or support prevention of injury in the Indigenous population, and to sources which could be used for this purpose. The findings of this survey are used as the basis for discussion and conclusions concerning directions for development of information sources.

This Briefing provides an overview of injury as a chronic health issue in Australia. The report highlights the long-term health consequences following severe injury and the effects on individual’s physical and psychosocial wellbeing. Types of injuries covered in the Briefing include spinal cord injuries, traumatic brain injuries, severe burns as well as injury comorbidities such as fractures and self-harm.

A statistical report on injury deaths and hospitalisation due to firearms in Australia in 1994

Injury mortality case numbers and rates in Australia since 1979. User can select period, type of external cause, State/Territory and gender, and produce a table.

This report describes injury mortality in Australia during 2002. It includes information about the major causes of injury such as transport-related deaths, suicide and accidental falls. The data provided in relation to each cause include age and sex, State and Territory differences, trends over time, and other associated factors. The report will be relevant to anyone interested in gaining an insight into patterns of injury mortality and the burden it imposes on the Australian community.

This report describes injury mortality in Australia during 2003-04. It includes information about the major causes of injury such as transport-related deaths, suicide and accidental falls. The data provided in relation to each cause include age and sex, state and territory differences, remoteness of residence, trends over time, and other associated factors. The report will be relevant to anyone interested in gaining an insight into patterns of injury mortality and the burden it imposes on the Australian community.

Accidental falls, suicide and transport-related injuries are common causes of death in the Australian community. This report finds that overall, rates of injury death in Australia during 2004-05 increased with the remoteness of the injured person's residence, with those who resided in very remote areas having a rate more than double that of the national rate. When considering only deaths resulting from motor vehicle transport accidents, the mortality rate for those who resided in very remote areas was 4 times the national rate. When considering state and territory of residence, those who resided in the Northern Territory, where much of the population lives in remote and very remote areas, had mortality rates almost 3 times the national rate for motor vehicle transport-related deaths, more than double the national rate for suicides, and more than 4 times the national rate for homicides.

This report describes injury mortality in Australia during 1999. It includes information about the major causes of injury such as transport-related deaths, suicide and accidental falls. The data provided in relation to each cause include age and sex, State and Territory differences, trends over time, and other associated factors. It also examines, in detail, the implications of the transition from Version 9 to Version 10 of the International Classification of Diseases. The report will be relevant to anyone interested in gaining an insight into patterns of injury mortality and the burden it imposes on the Australian community.

Bicycle helmets, World Health Organisation's helmet initiative, How effective is bicycle helmet legislation, Helmet development, Bicycle usage rates, Queensland alters course, Community-based Injury Prevention: A practical guide

Keeping an eye on eye protection, Advisory Committee on Road Trauma, Australian Injury Prevention Network (Inc), NISU Website, Hot water temperatures, Aboriginal injury hospitalisations, Injury Training Opportunities, Spinal cord injury, Review of Safety Standards, Not only a new lighter standard, But also a new cot standard, Metamorphosis: from goals and targets to national health priority areas, Data Standards, Young males experience of unintentional injury, Injury prevention resource package, New Safety Switch for Pools and Spas, Commonwealth News, Around the traps: State and Territory News, Firearms, Evaluation of La Trobe Safe Communities, Down the gopher hole.

NISU is dead. Long live NISU, Better injury surveillance methods for indigenous populations, June meeting sets the ball rolling, Where are they now, Evaluating injury prevention initiatives, Injury on the internet, Commonwealth News, Introduction of ICD-10.

Injury Surveillance in Aboriginal Communities, New National Injury Prevention Advisory Council (NIPAC), Your Good Ideas will get a warm welcome, Craig wows the crowd, A word from the outgoing AIPN President, 1998 AIPN Awards, Down the Gopher Hole, AIPN Elects New Prez, Training an Injury Workforce, Injury Prevention Focus on Standards Committees, NHMRC looks at injury research, ICE on injury website, Injury Prevention Program Database, New Water Safety Council, New Leader for MUARC, Child Health Information Framework, International Data Standards, NDS-IS version 2.1, Co-ordination Body for National Coronial Information, International Information Exchange.

Report to the Health Ministers, A new focus on Burns, Around the traps: State & Territory News, National Co-ordination Body for Youth Suicide Prevention, SA Suicide Prevention Advisory Group, Injury on the Internet, Bunk beds: a tragic saga continues.

National Strategic Plan, Weighing the evidence, NHMRC Report on Injury Research, Injury - The Essential Glossary, Publish Your Research, The Amsterdam Conference-a Personal Perspective, New Road Crash Trauma Journal, Measuring the Burden of Injury, Preventing House Fires, International Child Safety Conference, Get your free copy now -National Health Data Dictionary (Version 7), Safety for the elderly, Sports injury information exchange, Indigenous Health Resource, 6th International Conference on Product Safety Research, Report on Injury ICE Meeting, Vincent teaches injury prevention, Coronial information on the WWWeb, New Injury Information List Server, Been involved in a falls prevention program, New face at NSW Health, Under a new name, Learning more about the means of suicide.

1998 Road Safety Conference, Who was there, Injury Prevention: What Works According to Peter Vulcan, The latest on the Coroner's Information System, The Cost of Injury, Towards Better Burns Data, Surveillance of Traumatic Brain Injury, Babywalker Safety - an issue on the move.

The Health & Wellbeing of Australia's Children, Youth Boxing Controversy - ban in jurisdictions, NSW Scalds Prevention Campaign Evaluated, Mary gets a Gong, A sad goodbye, The South Australian Trauma Registry, Timely data on suicides in South Australia, Surveillance of Aboriginal Injury in a NSW Community, Evaluation of SA's Graduated Driver Licensing Scheme, Product Safety in the Spotlight, Putting Kids in Car Seats-not the total solution, Clinton's address on changes to child restraint standards, New Horizons for the Australian Standard for Child Restraints, Injury on the Internet, Helmets for skiers, Seniors' sporting injuries, Victorian Injury Initiative wins National Award, Lost in Translation, Rural Health Information-the Issues, MUNCCI on the move, Work related injury deaths.

Injury 2000: Prevention and Management, NIPAC News, SportSafe, Update on sports injury surveillance, Injury on the Internet, 3rd National Injury Conference, Farm Injury in South Australia, Malinda hits the ICE, ICECI Developments, Measuring the burden of injury, Injury News from Abroad New Soccer Goal Standard.

Australia’s Injury Burden, Child Safety on Farms, Changes to mandatory product standards, Commonwealth News, New technology to prevent house fires, Update on ‘external causes’, Letter to the Editor-playground hazard, NSW Injury Risk Management Research Centre.

Update on injury deaths in Australia, Measuring and characterising injury in Australia, Injury 2000-the latest on the National Conference, Proceedings of the 3rd National Injury Conference, Injury news from abroad, WA bans some laser pointers, NSW Inquiry into portable soccer goals, Letter to the Editor-sports eye protection standards.

Getting injury prevention on target, Injury prevention in the act, Injury - A priority for the National Health Advancement Program, New rural injury research project, Injury Prevention: What works according to Ron Somers, Hot off the press, Report from Atlanta, A new Australian design rule, Learning death’s lessons, An injury blast from the past, A new data standard for injury surveillance, Scalds, U.S. and Canadian bicycle helmet promotion programs, In WA the joint is jumping

Injury 2000 Conference, Commonwealth news, This year’s RCIS work program, Horse-related injury-new study on eventing, Worldwide response to drowning, Cheap hip protectors, NSW babywalker standard, Driveway runovers, Growing problem of elderly falls, Safety alfresco-a crash barrier to protect pedestrians, ICD Update, In the journals: some recent Australian injury research, Health and safety of Australia’s farming community, Injury news from abroad, NHMRC Translational Grants.

Warrnambool Conference, Injury on the Internet, ICD-10-AM resources, New report on suicide, Update: surveillance of traumatic brain injury and burns, Commonwealth news, Injury burden attributable to alcohol, Injury in South Africa, Injury surveillance at the Sydney Olympics, Injury 2000 conference reports:, Drowning, AIPN elections, Declaration on Indigenous injury prevention, International perspective on product safety, ICECI Report, Accidental poisoning of preschool children, NHMRC Injury Research Partnership Grants, NHMRC funds Central Australian injury project, Queensland sets injury prevention indicators.

Injury in the Northern Territory, Alcohol-related injury and young males, Commonwealth news, Mapping to ICD-10, Release of ICECI Version 1, Come join the AIPN, Preventing injury in Thailand, Drowning Congress call for abstracts.

Child injuries due to falls, Release of National Injury Prevention Plan, Report on the recent Warrnambool Conference, New report: Falls by the elderly, NHMRC funds for injury prevention research, Information sources on injury among Indigenous Australians, Changes to ICD-10-AM, 2001 IgNobel Award for Injury Researcher, Adolescent self poisoning, Evaluating the evidence for injury interventions: a case study

Surveillance of eventing injuries, WHO releases injury surveillance guidelines, Two new mandatory product safety standards: bunk beds and baby walkers, Comments on proposed babywalker standard, New injury reseachers’ network, A bright idea: protective headband for car occupants, State and Territory News, Commonwealth News, Obituary: Struan Sutherland, Improved data on venomous animals and toxic plants.

Injury hospitalisations, Report from Montreal, Charter on people’s right to safety, AIPN needs you, Towards better injury indicators, Update on driveway runovers, Australia’s Health 2002, Spinal cord injury 1999-00, Hospitalisation due to traumatic brain injury, Near drownings, NSW drowning prevention initiatives, Australian beach hazards, Churchill fellowships for injury, In the journals: recent Australian injury research.

WHO report on violence, Older Australia at a glance, NSW plans for the future and so does SA, Injury prevention in China, Injury on the internet, New on-line injury course, ICECI latest developments, Child safety on farms, SIPP Communique, Launch of National Coronial Information System, NSW child deaths, ATSIIPAC News, In the journals, Injury prevention in Mongolia, Towards an Australian Safe Communities Foundation.

Alcohol and water safety, Reflections on the Perth Conference, Injury in the Asia-Pacific Region, Conference photos, New ATSI Health Statistics Unit, Injury in Bangladesh, World Health Day 2004, AIPN Report, Suicide risk factors in Bangalore, India, Suicide among young Samoans, Eye Safety Project, Bangladesh, Childhood injury prevention in Vietnam, Suicide and risk-taking deaths of children and young people, SIPP Communique.

National injury conference, Identifying national priorities for injury prevention., Trends in spinal injuries, Using CATI for injury surveillance, New edition of Type of Occurrence Classification, Report on ATSI Workshop, Report on ICE meeting in Paris, Poor vision and hip fractures, In the journals, Coronial Information System put through its paces, Falls-our costliest epidemic.

National Coronial Information System as an injury surveillance tool, SIPP Communique, Health system cost of falls in WA, From the Coroner - coronial findings on consumer products, Journal: Injury Prevention, Spinal cord injury in Australia 2001-02, Management structure of the Spinal Cord Injury Register, Injury research in Australia and New Zealand.

The theme of this edition of the Injury Issues Monitor is Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander injury and methods of data collection. Community-based Indigenous Injury Prevention Projects, SIPP Communique, Injury on the Internet, Did you know, Violence - Make a Difference, NSW Adopts Aboriginal Safety Strategy, Information about Injury in Indigenous People, Collecting Patient Registration Information Training Program, From the Coroner

Draft National Injury Prevention Plan, National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Safety Promotion Strategy, Release of ICECI Version 1.2, From the Coroner: Baby bath seats, NSW Falls Management Strategy, Hospitalised fractures, SIPP Communique, In the journals.

2002 injury deaths, Conference report: Mackay 2004, Injury mortality among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, Queensland safe communities, Injury in the gay and lesbian community, Injury caused by mangoes, Falls prevention in hospitals and residential aged care facilities, Safe Communities Foundation, ICECI in the real world, From the Coroner, SCI Register Workshop, 8th World Injury Conference, National Injury Prevention Plan Update, SIPP Communique, Mortality among Korean war veterans, Falls prevention exercise manual

Key occupational injury organisations; Role of design in serious work-related injury (NOHSC); Role of machinery design in farm injury among males; Contribution of coroners to designing for safety; Regulatory approach to minimising design-related occupational injury; Retrofitting of safe tractor access platforms; Influence of product design on risk perception and behaviour; Design issues and mining injuries; Engineering solutions to manual handling and fall hazards in plasterers; PhD students involved in occupational injury research; Safe tractor assessment rating system; Occupational injury websites; Product Safety Study; From the Coroner: all terrain vehicles and scuba diving; A picture of Australia’s children; Keeping kids safe on Western Australia’s roads; Dishwasher detergent injuries; Next world injury conference; Survey of Aboriginal children and young people; Injury seminars on the Internet; Stay on Your Feet WA; Draft swimming pool standards; Information sharing; Mexican ICE meeting

In this issue: National Injury Plan; Dangerous dogs; Potential changes to ICD-10-AM; ICE on the web; Statistical methods for injury surveillance; Review of consumer product safety system; National Injury Conference; Indigenous injury resources at healthinfonet; Tai Chi to prevent falls; WHO injury prevention curriculum; Adding value to injury data systems; World injury conference; Mobile phones and driving; Survey of seniors’ knowledge about falls; Health and welfare of indigenous people

Spinal cord injury; SA transport safety project targets Aboriginal communities; World Injury Conference; National Injury Conference; Australian Mortality Data Interest Group; New RCIS staff member; NHMRC injury grants; The demise of the SIPP Committee; Workshop: Understanding Mortality Data;

Sports Injury Report; Injury hospitalisations 2001–02; National Injury Conference; New on the RCIS website; Occupational eye injuries; From the Coroner: Petrol sniffing related deaths; Product Safety Review; New Industrial Classification; 5th edition of ICD-10-AM; Mandatory smoke alarms in NSW; Summary of results from National Health Survey; Professional Development

Alcohol and work; Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Survey; From the Coroner: fatal fall from from balcony; Building better balconies and balustrades; Safer youth celebrations in NSW Postgraduate Research Scholarship: Expressions of Interest; Reflections on the 8th World Injury Conference; CATI based injury prevention surveys; Australia’s Health 2006; Interpersonal violence in Australia; 9th World Injury Conference, Mexico 2008; Basketball and netball injuries; Basketball ring hazard; 8th Australian Injury Prevention Conference; Farewell to Professor Gary Andrews

Hip fracture injuries; Falls from playground equipment; Spinal cord injuries 2004–05; Burns and scalds; PhD Scholarship; Injury hospitalisations 2003–04; Injury deaths 2003–04; Deaths at work; Hospitalised injury of Australia’s Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander People; Smiles all round: the 2006 National Injury Conference; Harrison’s story: Use of Emergency Department Injury Surveillance Data to Effect Change in the Community;Child Safety Good Practice Guide; Aboriginal people travelling better? The 3rd Indigenous Road Safety Forum, Broome

Falls in the elderly and their country of birth; New on the RCIS website; Safety 2008 Conference in Mexico; ISCAIP Meeting; XVIII World Congress; Farmsafe conference; MUARC workshop; Community Grants Program; Population Health Congress 2008; TRACsa conference; ABS Information Paper: External Causes of Death, Data Quality, 2005; Electrical injury and death; Healthy body art: Reducing the risk of injury and infection from body piercing; Healthy Spaces and Places: National Planning Guidelines Project; Kidsafe SA launch; 11th revision moves ICD into the 21st Century; Something to read

Drowning deaths and hospitalisations; Football injuries; National leadership in injury prevention; The Australian Injury Prevention Network; Serious transport-related injury; Something to read; Injury courses; Using Multiple Causes of Death for injury surveillance; Injury prevention: a glossary; References; Diary

Landmines: 'a weapon of mass destruction in slow motion', Further information: Coronial Information System , Spinal Injuries Report, Road Injury in Australia 1991, Casemix and the treatment of vehicle injury cases, National Health Goals and Targets, Some changes in the Capital, Pedestrian safety report, Inquiry into effect of drugs on road safety, NISU Goes 'On-Line', More Injury on the Internet, Professional development opportunities, Report from Rural Road Safety Conference, NRTAC, Preventing Scalds, Overview of initiatives to reduce scalds, Product liability, Proposed reforms of gun ownership legislation, Down the gopher hole, And the lucky winner is, Exhibition at the Third International Conference on Injury Prevention and Control.

On the subject of firearms, Landmines, Yet more Injury on the Internet, Down the Gopher Hole, A note from Pam Albany, Road Injury Information Program, Information on the blood alcohol concentration of injured drivers, Spinal injury project, Injury Atlas, New Routine Surveillance Data Report, The Youth Suicide Prevention Initiative, Sports Taskforce Launch, Commonwealth News, Australian Advisory Committee on Road Trauma, Outcomes of 1995 injury researchers workshop, State injury managers meeting, Product Safety.

Future challenges, Reflections on the Conference, Archie Roach & Ruby Hunter - A Class Act, Into The Future, Associated meetings and events, Handing Over the Reins, Commonwealth News, Firearms, Using evidence to inform practice to prevent injuries at the local level, Falls In Older People, Injury training opportunities.

Consumer product safety, Putting the brakes on babywalkers, New consumer safety journal, Injury Prevention: What works according to Lyn Clarke, Hot off the press, Do you have any idea, New public health network, Interstate cooperation, A little more formality, Update: Minimum data set, Injury goals and targets update

NISU steps into the future, United we stand: Three new injury coalitions, Babies on wheels, United States: Making new rules for baby walkers, Injury Prevention: What works according to Jerry Moller, The things we get asked, New, full-frontal, design rule, Road traffic crashes: a significant source of injury in less developed countries, Spinal cord injury surveillance, Computer talk, Multipurpose helmets, Emergency department attendances for road injury, National Road Safety Action Plan, Injury statistics on ICE, What’s been happening with those goals and targets, Review of Australia’s Standards

Coronial information system: coming soon, States endorse national goals and targets, Farm safety: Research to guide action groups, Down the gopher hole

Australian Spinal Injuries Register, New injury surveillance data standards, Working as a nation to prevent injury, Pedestrian injuries in childhood, Inquiry into Occupational Health and Safety, Injury on the internet, Domestic violence in Victoria, New from the AIHW, Crushed ICE*

This report looks at the death and serious injury of Indigenous persons in Australia due to transport accidents in the five-year period 1999–00 to 2003–04. It focuses on the four jurisdictions of the Northern Territory, Western Australia, South Australia and Queensland and examines variables such as mode of transport, gender, age group and remoteness from an urban centre.

This report looks at the death and serious injury of Indigenous persons in Australia due to transport accidents in the five-year period 2001-02 to 2005-06. It focuses on the four jurisdictions of the Northern Territory, Western Australia, South Australia and Queensland and examines variables such as mode of transport, gender, age group and remoteness from an urban centre.

Computer assisted telephone interviewing (CATI) is a methodology increasingly utilised in the public health arena both in Australia and internationally. The CATI Technical Reference Group, in collaboration with other key organisations, is currently developing a national pool of question modules addressing a wide range of public health topics. These surveillance system modules include such topics as asthma, diabetes, physical activity, and nutrition. This paper contributes to the development of a module addressing injury.

This report investigated the predictive properties of different methods of measurement of injury severity based upon the ICD-based Injury Severity Score (ICISS). The methods investigated included the multiplicative and the 'worst injury' variations of the ICISS. Both variants performed well. Age (which is commonly included in ICISS models) and comorbidity both improved model performance, while the best performing models included both of these covariates. Future possible enhancements are the inclusion of cases where death occurred outside of hospital, and better management of data for individuals who underwent more than one hospital separation for a single injury event. Both of these enhancements require further development of data linkage systems.

This Briefing provides an overview of hospitalised injury due to falls from ladders. Injurious falls from ladders requiring admission to hospital occurred at a rate of 18.5 per 100,000 population in the year to June 30 2005 (n= 3,486). Two-thirds of hospitalised injury incidents due to falls from ladders in this year resulted in fractures and more than 40% of falls from ladders occurred in the home. Rates increased markedly with age and, unlike most other types of fall injuries, falls from ladders were more common for older males than for older females. Both the number and the rate of injurious ladder-related falls have increased for older Australians in recent years.

This brief report summarises information in relation to 59 cases of emergency department presentation for which a magpie had been coded as being a factor in causing an injury. It was written in response to a specific question from one of the Centre's clients.

'Measuring and reporting mortality in hospital patients' aims to develop national indicators of in-hospital mortality and was one of several projects conducted as part of the National Indicators Project commissioned by the Australian Commission on Safety and Quality in Health Care. The project has two parts: a literature review focussing on methods for analysing and reporting in-hospital mortality, and a modelling project aimed at identifying national indicators of hospital mortality that can be implemented now and in the future.

A review of death and hospitalisation due to intentional self-poisoning by motor-vehicle exhaust gas in Australia during 1994.

Data standards recommended for injury surveillance in Australia

This document was written to assist in the identification of priority injury issues for the next National Injury Prevention Plan in Australia. The document provides a discussion of injury priority setting in a global context by reviewing the public health approach to injury prevention and in a local context by identifying a developmental approach to injury prevention within Australia. Each of the proposed priority injury areas is discussed with respect to monitoring and maintenance of successes, defining and measuring severity, equity issues and partnership development. The document will be relevant to those interested in priority setting in a health arena, health and policy planners, health administrators, researchers and the public.

This report outlines a range of issues that affect the availability, qualiry and utilisation of data on Tramatic Brain Injury (TBI). It is intended that the report be used to facilitate discussion about the needs and opportunities for improved information on TBI. The report is focussed mainly on assessment of the 'incidence' of TBI ie. the number of new acute cases in th epopulation over a period of time. Based on a review of published literature on this topic, and an assessment of existing data systems, seven recommendations were made about needed data improvements. For example, it was recommended that a standard definition of TBI (ie. the CDC/WHO definition) be utilised to improve the comparability of studies of TBI. Comments are invited on the recommendations presented in the report.

This report presents the findings of an investigation of the needs and opportunities for improved surveillance of burns in Australia. An assessment of available data revealed limitations in fulfilling information needs. Through a process of national consultation sith Burn Units, a model for an improved national data system was determined. The Australian and New Zealand Burns Association decided to proceed to develop the improved data system based on a common minimum data set provided by the AIHW National Injury Surveillance Unit (NISU) of the Flinders University Research Centre for Injury Studies. The database will be managed by the AIHW NISU

Injury cases admitted to hospitals in Australia are coded according to the Australian clinical modification of the International Classification of Diseases (ICD10AM). The third edition of ICD10AM, published early in 2002, includes substantial changes to the chapter covering External Causes of Injury and Poisoning. This document describes the changes.

Links to other sites with an injury flavour

This is a statistical report on persisting morbidity among hospitalised immersions in Australia for 1997–98. The main aim was to quantify persisting morbidity resulting from immersion events, but all immersion events for this year are also described. Other possible sources of routine data on persisting morbidity related to immersions are briefly outlined. The report is useful for insight into identifying near drowning and persisting morbidity among national data sources. The report will be relevant to those interested in data on drowning and near drowning, as well as to community practitioners, health planners and administrators, academic researchers and the public.

The development of Computer-Assisted Telephone Interview (CATI) question modules is a rigorous process, and may include a cognitive testing phase, where the proposed question module is presented to a small number of respondents and analysed by cognitive psychologists, and a wider field testing phase, which addresses reliability and validity issues using a test-retest protocol. This paper discusses the testing and further development of an injury CATI module submitted to the CATI Technical Reference Group, a subcommittee of the National Public Health Information Working Group.

The main object of this report was to prepare a submission to the National Centre for Classification in Health (NCCH) for amendments to chapters XIX and XX for the fifth edition of the Australian modification of the tenth revision of the International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems (ICD-10-AM). Amendments were based on a review of patterns of use of existing categories, injury surveillance experience and comparison with other relevant classifications. Feedback was also sought from other injury surveillance personnel. Although originally prepared for the fifth edition of ICD-10-AM, this report may potentially serve as a basis for subsequent submissions to the NCCH for amendments for future editions of this classification.

This report describes Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander mortality for 1997-2000, with comparisons to non-Indigenous mortality for the same period. Data is presented for two reporting regions, with jurisdictions grouped according to completeness of death and population data. Total external causes and major selected external causes are reported by age, sex, Indigenous status, and remoteness of place of usual residence. Overall, injury death rates were higher for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, and rates were generally higher for residents of remote areas.

Home page of the National Injury Survellance Unit website

Beginning in 1986, data on spinal cord injury was collected by spinal units in New South Wales and registered using a system devised by Mr. John Walsh an actuary. It later developed into a national register and continued to operate until the end of 1991. After the support of major funders concluded at the end of 1991, the National Injury Surveillance Unit (NISU) commissioned a study to investigate the demand for information on Spinal Cord Injury (SCI) occurrence and ways in which it could be satisfied.

This brief report summarises information on scaffold related injury in the course of working derived from three separate data sources: emergency department presentations, hospitalisations and deaths. It was written in response to a specific question from one of the Centre's clients.

This report presents national statistics on serious non-fatal injury due to land transport accidents in Australia during 2006-07. Males were more than 2 times more likely than females to be hospitalised as a result of a land transport accident, while just over 50% of those hospitalised were aged less than 30 years. When looking at serious injury rates for road vehicle traffic crashes in relation to the number of kilometres travelled, the rate for motorcyclists was more than 37 times that of car occupants. Rates for the Northern Territory remained higher than those for all other jurisdictions over the period from 2000-01 to 2006-07.

This report presents national statistics on serious injury due to land transport accidents that resulted in admission to hospital in Australia during the one-year period 2003-04. It focuses on road vehicle traffic crashes in particular, and examines variables such as mode of transport, gender, age group and remoteness from an urban centre.

This report presents national statistics on serious injury due to land transport accidents that resulted in admission to hospital in Australia during the one-year period 2005-06. It focuses on road vehicle traffic crashes in particular, and examines variables such as mode of transport, gender, age group and remoteness from an urban centre.

This report presents national statistics on serious non-fatal injury due to transport accidents involving a railway train in Australia during the period from 2002-03 to 2006-07. Victoria and New South Wales accounted for over 71% of hospitalisations due to transport injury involving a train, while Victoria accounted for just over half of level-crossing hospitalisations during this period. The risk of serious injury, based on kilometres travelled, is more than 10 times greater for passengers travelling by car, compared with passengers travelling by rail.

This report presents national statistics on serious injury due to transport accidents involving a railway train that resulted in admission to hospital in Australia during the five-year period 1999-00 to 2003-04. It examines variables such as mode of transport, gender and age group. It also focuses on level crossing accidents.

This report presents national statistics on serious injury due to transport accidents involving a railway train that resulted in admission to hospital in Australia during the five-year period 2001-02 to 2005-06. It examines variables such as mode of transport, gender and age group. It also focuses on level crossing accidents.

This report presents national statistics on serious injury due to transport accidents that resulted in admission to hospital in Australia during the one-year period 2003-­04. It examines variables such as mode of transport, gender and age group.

This report presents national statistics on serious injury due to transport accidents that resulted in admission to hospital in Australia during the one-year period 2005-06. It examines variables such as mode of transport, gender and age group.

Severe spinal cord injury (SCI) is a very debilitating injury. Australia was the first country to implement a national population-based register to enable surveillance of SCI cases to help prevent and control this problem. This report provides information on case registrations for the year 2001–02. During the year, 239 new cases of SCI from traumatic causes were registered in Australia, an age-adjusted incidence rate of 12.2 cases per million population. Approximately 25% of the cases were motor vehicle occupants. Water related SCI accounted for 7% of the cases, all of which had injury to the cervical spinal segments. Thirty-one cases were work related. Thirteen cases occurred during sporting activities, eight of which were during contact sports. Falling was the commonest type of event leading to traumatic SCI at older ages. The most common clinical outcome of SCI was incomplete tetraplegia (82 cases).

Spinal cord injury (SCI) is a very debilitating injury. During the six year period from 1 July 1999 to 30 June 2005 there were 19,912 hospital separations in Australia which involved some form of spinal cord injury. Transport-related cases accounted for over 47% of all incident cases, while fall-related injury accounted for a further 33%. Over half (54%) of separations involved readmissions related to complications of spinal cord injuries sustained at an earlier time. The introduction of person-based linkage would allow much more complete and reliable estimation of the incidence of SCI in the community and the burden of SCI on the hospital sector and community.

Spinal cord injury is one of the more debilitating injuries that a person can suffer. Australia was the first country to implement a national population-based register to enable surveillance of spinal cord injury cases to help prevent and control this problem. This report provides information on case registrations for the period 2000-01.

During the financial year, there were 259 new cases of spinal cord injury from traumatic causes in Australia with an age-adjusted incidence rate of 13.6 cases per million population. Approximately one-third of these cases were the result of motor vehicle accidents, 44% of which were due to vehicle rollover. Falls were a significant cause of spinal cord injury in the elderly, with almost two-thirds of low falls reported causing spinal cord injury in this group. Twenty-one cases were engaged in sporting activities, eight of which were due to playing rugby. Fifty cases were work related.

The most common outcome of trauma to the spinal cord was incomplete tetraplegia (92 cases), resulting in impairment of motor and sensory function in both upper and lower limbs.

Severe spinal cord injury (SCI) is a very debilitating injury. This report presents information from the Australian Spinal Cord Injury Register (ASCIR) on cases in the year 2002-03. During the year, 245 new cases of SCI from traumatic causes were registered in Australia, an age-adjusted incidence rate of 12.4 cases per million population. The most common clinical outcome of SCI was incomplete tetraplegia (102 cases). 45% of cases were related to road transport, and 7% to water-related activities. Cases also occurred during sport and work. Falling was the commonest type of event leading to traumatic SCI at older ages. The ASCIR is a collaborative activity of the AIHW National Injury Surveillance Unit and all of the specialist spinal units in Australia.

Spinal cord injury (SCI) is uncommon, but personal and health system costs per case are high. This report presents information from the Australian Spinal Cord Injury Register (ASCIR) on new persisting cases of SCI in the year 2003-04. During the year, 247 new cases of SCI from traumatic causes were registered in Australia, 82% of cases involving males. The most common clinical outcome of persisting SCI was incomplete tetraplegia (101 cases). The average duration of initial care of patients with incomplete tetraplegia was 116 days. 41% of cases were related to land transport, and 10% to water-related activities. Cases also occured during sport and work. Falls caused 34% of persisting SCI cases, about two-thirds of these were falls from a height of one metre or higher, largely involving males aged 15 to 64 years, and comonly occuring during paid or unpaid work.

Severe spinal cord injury (SCI) is a very debilitating injury. This report presents information from the Australian Spinal Cord Injury Register (ASCIR) on 381 newly incident cases from trauma and disease in the year 2004–05. During the year, 280 new cases of SCI from traumatic causes were registered in Australia, an age-adjusted incidence rate of 15.4 cases per million population. The most common clinical outcome of SCI was incomplete tetraplegia (92 cases). 39% of cases were related to road transport, and 9% to water-related activities. Cases also occurred during sport (n=44) and working for income, including travel to and from work (n=47). Falling was the most common type of event leading to traumatic SCI at older ages. The ASCIR is a collaborative activity of the AIHW National Injury Surveillance Unit and all of the specialist spinal units in Australia.

Spinal cord injury (SCI) is one of the most debilitating injuries that a person can suffer. Australia was the first country to implement a national population-based register of SCI to enable surveillance and help prevent and control this problem. This report provides information for 1999-00.

Severe spinal cord injury (SCI) is a very debilitating injury. This report presents information from the Australian Spinal Cord Injury Register (ASCIR) on 374 newly incident cases from trauma and disease in the year 2005-06. During the year, 284 new cases of SCI from traumatic causes were registered in Australia, an age-adjusted incidence rate of 15.7 cases per million population. The most common clinical outcome of SCI was incomplete tetraplegia (93 cases). Transport related injuries (46%) and falls (33%) accounted for over three-quarters of the 284 cases of traumatic SCI. Cases also occurred during sport (n=35) and working for income, including travel to and from work (n=43). Falling was the most common type of event leading to traumatic SCI at older ages. The ASCIR is a collaborative activity of the AIHW National Injury Surveillance Unit and all of the specialist units in Australia.

Severe spinal cord injury (SCI) is a very debilitating injury. This report presents information from the Australian Spinal Cord Injury Register (ASCIR) on 348 newly incident cases from trauma and disease in 2006–07. During the year, 272 new cases of SCI from traumatic causes were registered in Australia, an age-adjusted incidence rate of 14.9 cases per million population. The most common clinical outcome of SCI from traumatic causes was incomplete tetraplegia (98 cases). Transport related injuries (52%) and falls (29%) accounted for over three-quarters of the 271 cases of traumatic SCI (one case under the age of 15 years was excluded from these analyses). Cases also occurred during sport (n = 21) and working for income, including travel to and from work (n = 37). Falling was the most common type of event leading to traumatic SCI at older ages. The ASCIR is a collaborative activity of the AIHW National Injury Surveillance Unit and all of the specialist units in Australia.

This is a statistical report on suicide and hospitalised self harm in Australia. It provides the latest data available including data on age and sex distribution and methods used, and presents trends for suicide deaths. The report also includes information on suicide amongst Indigenous Australians and describes the shortcomings of the data and the implications for interpreting the data. It will be relevant to those interested in data on suicide or those working in the field, including community practitioners, health planners and administrators, academic researchers and the public.

A short report on suicide by older persons in Australia. Based on data available in 1997.

This report provides an improved technical basis for reporting indicators of injury occurrence in Australia. The current set of National Health Priority Areas (NHPA) injury indicators has been documented thoroughly, to enable them to be reported without ambiguity concerning which cases should be included, calculation methods, or other technical considerations. In addition, the precise purposes of the indicators have been reviewed, and a set of revisions to the technical specification of the indicators has been proposed, in order to improve the capacity of the indicators to serve these purposes. The technically revised specification is designed to provide more valid monitoring of trends in the population incidence of serious injury in Australia.

A statistical method for assessing variability in injury rates.

This report assesses the strengths and weaknesses of the National Coroners Information System (NCIS), particularly in terms of its coverage and data integrity and in supporting injury prevention initiatives, primarily by comparing it to the ABS Deaths Data Collection. Specific injury topic areas are considered to aid this assessment, but the focus is on illustrating the functions of the NCIS rather than providing a comprehensive description of the topic area. The NCIS was found to be potentially very useful for injury prevention purposes because of the considerable detail available in the coded and text variables and in the attached text documents. However, there are still a number of limitations that need to be addressed.

There was no change in the age-standardised rate of spinal cord injury (SCI) from 1986-1997 in Australia. There were some opposing trends in the rates of SCI by age and sex group, cause and neurological group. In males aged 15-24 years there was an approximate 3% per annum (p.a.) decrease in the annual rate of SCI whereas in males aged 65 years and over there was an approximate 6% p.a. increase in the rate of SCI. The rate of transport-related SCI declined (-4% p.a.) whereas the rate of fall-related SCI increased (+2% p.a.). The rate of transport-related SCI decreased in young males and females (-4% p.a. and -7% p.a. respectively), and also in some older male age groups (-3% p.a. in 25-34 year age group and -6% p.a. in 45-54 year age group). In contrast, the rate of fall-related SCI increased in elderly males (+9% p.a.), but not among elderly females. The report suggests that there have been successes and relative failures in public health to address the SCI problem.

This report describes the bites and stings due to contact with venomous animals and plants that resulted in a separation from an Australian hospital in the period 1 July 2002 to 30 June 2005. Analyses of bite and sting cases over time (1999–2005) are also presented. Hospitalised bites and stings were most frequently attributed to spiders, bees and wasps while snakebites were a less frequent cause of hospitalisation. Higher rates of serious bites and stings were generally observed for males and for younger people. Little change in the rate of hospitalised bites and stings was noted over time. This report demonstrates that changes made to the ICD-10-AM classification system from 1 July 2002 have greatly improved the specificity and utility of hospitalised bite and sting data.

A statistical report on suicide and intentional self-harm by young people in Australia. Based on data available in 1997.