The Australian Bureau of Statistics latest release “Cause of Death Australia 2021” provides an overview of the fatal impact that injury has in Australia.
Unlike international figures, Australia experienced a significant decrease in the overall age-standardised death rate from 2019 to 2020. Given this and the impact of COVID-19 it is not surprising that in 2021 the overall Australian age-standarised death rate increased to 507.2 per 100,000 population. When narrowing in on the incidence of injury-related fatalities, there was a slight increase over the last year from 39.4 in 2020 to 39.6 per 100,000 people in 2021.
Looking even closer to home, injury continues to significantly impact the WA community with the data indicating that 1,435 Western Australians lost their lives due to an injury-related incident in 2021. This made injury the third leading cause of death in WA in 2021.
Similarly to the previous year, the leading causes of injury-related fatalities in WA were falls (n=491), intentional self-harm (n=389), transport incidents (n=185) and poisonings (n=179).
The data also reinforces the varying incidence of injury by age, with injury being the leading underlying cause of death among Western Australians aged 15-44 in 2021.
It is essential that we don’t forget that each of these statistics represents a member of the community. If any of these figures have caused you distress, please do not hesitate to reach out to a support service. Key contact details can be found on the Injury Matters eDirectory.