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Original research
Injury hospitalisations for children and young people: a 20-year review
  1. Zoe Pollock1,
  2. Glenn Draper1,
  3. Will Constantine2,
  4. Elizabeth Chalker1,3,
  5. Louise Freebairn1,4
  1. 1 ACT Health, Canberra, Australian Capital Territory, Australia
  2. 2 ACT Community Services Directorate, Canberra, Australian Capital Territory, Australia
  3. 3 Biological Data Science Institute, Australian National University, Canberra, Australian Capital Territory, Australia
  4. 4 National Centre for Epidemiology and Population Health, Canberra, Australian Capital Territory, Australia
  1. Correspondence to Ms Zoe Pollock, ACT Health, Canberra, Australian Capital Territory, Australia; zoe.pollock{at}act.gov.au

Abstract

Background Childhood injuries can have significant lifelong consequences. Quantifying and understanding patterns in injury severity can inform targeted prevention strategies and policies. This study examines the characteristics of child injury hospitalisations in the Australian Capital Territory over 20 years.

Methods This study is a retrospective analysis of Admitted Patient Care Collection data for persons aged 0–24 years who were hospitalised for an injury between July 2000 and June 2020. Injury severity was assessed using International Classification of Injury Severity Scores based on survival risk ratios.

Results The age standardised rate for injury hospitalisations increased significantly from 10.2 per 1000 in 2000/2001 to 21.0 per 1000 in 2019/2020, representing an average annual per cent change of 3.6%. Almost two-thirds of injuries were for men, however the rate of injury hospitalisations increased more rapidly in women. The majority of injuries (81.8%) were classified as minor. The proportion of injuries classified as serious increased with age. For moderate and serious injuries, injuries to the head were the most common type of injury, while falls were the leading cause. Self-harm injuries emerged as a leading contributor to the increase in injuries in young people aged 13–24 years old.

Conclusion This study emphasises the concerning upward trend in injury hospitalisations among children and young people over the past two decades. Given Australia is yet to formalise a national injury prevention strategy, understanding the patterns and characteristics of injuries is vital to developing effective prevention interventions to reduce harm and improve child safety.

  • Injury Diagnosis
  • Epidemiology
  • Child
  • Adolescent
  • Youth

Data availability statement

Data are available upon reasonable request. Data may be obtained from a third party and are not publicly available. All data relevant to the study are included in the article or uploaded as supplementary information. Applications to access data should be made to the ACT Health Directorate.

https://doi.org/10.1136/ip-2023-045099

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    Data availability statement

    Data are available upon reasonable request. Data may be obtained from a third party and are not publicly available. All data relevant to the study are included in the article or uploaded as supplementary information. Applications to access data should be made to the ACT Health Directorate.

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    Footnotes

    • Contributors ZP, GD, WC, EC and LF were all involved in the study concept, planning and design. ZP and GD conducted the analysis and wrote the first draft of the manuscript. ZP, GD, WC, EC and LF were all involved in the interpretation of data and revisions of the manuscript. ZP acted as the guarantor.

    • Funding The authors have not declared a specific grant for this research from any funding agency in the public, commercial or not-for-profit sectors.

    • Competing interests None declared.

    • Patient and public involvement Patients and/or the public were not involved in the design, or conduct, or reporting, or dissemination plans of this research.

    • Provenance and peer review Not commissioned; externally peer reviewed.