Farm injury hospitalisations in New South Wales (2010 to 2014)

Tony Lower, Rebecca J. Mitchell*

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

9 Citations (Scopus)
18 Downloads (Pure)

Abstract

Objective: To examine gender differences in the characteristics, treatment costs and health outcomes of farm injuries resulting in hospitalisation of New South Wales (NSW) residents. Method: A population-based study of individuals injured on a farm and admitted to hospital using linked hospital admission and mortality records from 1 January 2010 to 30 June 2014 in NSW. Health outcomes, including injury severity, hospital length of stay (LOS), 28-day readmission and 30-day mortality were examined by gender. Results: A total of 6,270 hospitalisations were identified, with males having a higher proportion of work-related injuries and injuries involving motorbikes compared to females. Females had a higher proportion of equestrian-related injuries. There were no differences in injury severity, with around 20% serious injuries, in mean LOS or 28-day hospital re-admission. Treatment costs totalled $42.7 million, with males accounting for just under 80% of the total. Conclusions: There are some gender differences in the characteristics of farm injury-related hospitalisations. Farm injury imposes modest, but nonetheless relatively considerable, financial costs on hospital services in NSW. Implications for public health: Continued efforts to ameliorate these injuries in a farm environment, which are mainly preventable, will have personal and societal benefits.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)388-393
Number of pages6
JournalAustralian and New Zealand Journal of Public Health
Volume41
Issue number4
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 1 Aug 2017

Bibliographical note

Copyright the Author(s) 2017. Version archived for private and non-commercial use with the permission of the author/s and according to publisher conditions. For further rights please contact the publisher.

Keywords

  • agriculture
  • farm
  • hospital
  • injury
  • occupational

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