9. Other unintentional injury deaths, Australia 1994

• Age and sex distribution
• Trends in death rates
• State and territory differences

Age and sex distribution

This residual category includes many types of injury deaths, including choking, suffocation, machinery, electrocution, excessive heat and cold among others. Suffocation and choking accounted for 62% of "other unintentional" injury deaths for children aged 0-4 years (n=16). Machinery accidents and being struck by falling objects accounted for a further 19% (n=5). Unintentional injuries as a result of choking - food and non-food (n=55), mechanical suffocation (n=27), struck by falling objects (n=48) machinery accidents (n=73) and electrocution (n=45), were the most common causes of "other unintentional" injury deaths for males. 26% of all "other intentional" injury deaths occurred to persons aged 65 or more years. Choking - food and non-food (n=39), excessive cold (n=18) and machinery accidents (n=11) were the most common causes of death in this age range.

Trends in death rates

"Other unintentional" injury deaths were down 12% from 1993. Since 1979 this rate has declined by 43%. Female rates which have remained relatively constant in the period 1979-1993, fell by 29% from 1993 to 1 death per 100,000 in 1994, the lowest level recorded since 1979. Overall, female rates have declined by 38% since 1979. Male rates have also declined since 1979, falling by 6% from 1993 and by 43% from 1979 to a rate of 4.7 deaths per 100,000 in 1994. The number of accidental firearm deaths continued to fall, down 74% since 1979. This fall was predominantly due to a large decrease in the number of recorded male deaths, down from 53 in 1979 to 15 in 1994.

State and territory differences

No state or territory rate differed significantly from the national rate in 1994.