CANBERRA, May 16 (Xinhua) -- Unintentional falls remain the leading cause of injury-related hospitalization and death among Australian women, a new report has revealed.
The Injury Among Women report found that falls accounted for 122,800 (57 percent) hospitalizations and 3,400 (58 percent) deaths in 2022-23, according to the report released by the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW) on Thursday.
Older women were particularly affected, the report said, adding that those aged 65 and over made up 73 percent of fall hospitalizations and 97 percent of fall-related deaths. Fractures, especially to hips and lower limbs, were the most common injuries.
"Every year, thousands of women present to an emergency department or are hospitalized due to injury," said AIHW spokesperson Jacqueline Rek. Women were defined in the report as females aged 19 and over.
Women face unique injury risks influenced by factors like ageing, mental health, domestic violence, and geography, Rek said, adding that tracking these trends helps improve awareness and inform prevention measures.
Women contributed to 40 percent of all injury hospitalizations in 2022-23, Rek said, adding that over half of all injury deaths among women aged 65 and over were due to falls, and the death rate from falls in this age group was more than 66 times higher than for women aged 40-64.
Overall, injuries led to around 217,000 hospitalizations, 6,000 deaths, and over 537,000 emergency department visits for Australian women in 2022-23, the report said.
Assault was the leading cause of injury hospitalization among Indigenous Australian women, who accounted for nearly half of all female assault hospitalizations in 2022-23, it said, adding that women in very remote areas were 43 times more likely to be hospitalized due to assault than those in major cities. Enditem
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