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ABSTRACT: To examine trends in road injury hospitalisation rates for Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal people in Western Australia.
Data from the Western Australian Hospital Morbidity Data System for the years between 1971 and 1997 were analysed. Poisson regression models were fitted to determine whether the trends were significant.
The rate of hospitalisation due to road injury for Aboriginal people (719.1 per 100 000 population per year) over the time period examined was almost twice as high as that for non-Aboriginal people (363.4 per 100 000 population per year). Overall, the results showed that while hospitalisations from road injury involving non-Aboriginal people have been decreasing by 6.7% per three year period since 1971, the rates of hospitalisation for Aboriginal people have been increasing by 2.6% per three year period. Both of these trends were statistically significant. The alarming increasing trend observed for Aboriginal people was more pronounced in males, those aged 0-14 years and over 45 years, and for those living in rural areas.
As the rates of road injury for Aboriginal people are higher than for non-Aboriginal people, and are also following an increasing trend, road safety issues involving Aboriginal people need to be addressed urgently by health and transport authorities.
Injury Prevention 10/2002; 8(3):211-5. · 1.39 Impact Factor
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ABSTRACT: This paper examines the consistency of police and hospital reporting of outcomes of road traffic crashes using a database of linked police crash reports and accident and emergency department data. The database used consisted of linked records of road traffic crashes in Western Australia for the period of October 1, 1987 to December 31, 1988 from police reported casualty crashes, the discharge records from all hospital admissions in Western Australia, the Registrar-General's death records, and records for each ambulance trip as a result of a road crash in the metropolitan area of Perth. The results suggest that police records of hospital admissions from the group of accident and emergency attendances underestimated the total by approximately 15%.
The Journal of trauma 06/1996; 40(5):805-9. · 2.48 Impact Factor
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L R Cercarelli
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ABSTRACT: Previous researchers who have looked at the problem of Australian Aboriginals involved in road crashes have examined data about Aboriginals killed in crashes as this has been the only kind available. The aim of the present study was to describe the characteristics of Aboriginals and non-Aboriginals hospitalised in Western Australia after a crash. The results suggested that Aboriginals were over-represented in casualty road crashes on a per-capita basis but that they did not differ in the patterns of injuries received or in injury severity when compared to non-Aboriginal casualties. Additional data are needed to further examine these issues.
Accident Analysis & Prevention 07/1994; 26(3):361-9. · 1.87 Impact Factor
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ABSTRACT: Much research has been conducted examining the problem of motorcycle road crashes. Most of this research has concluded that motorcyclists have a conspicuity problem, particularly during the day. This type of research has often involved comparing multi-vehicle motorcycle crashes with single vehicle motorcycle crashes occurring during the day and night. The aim of this paper is to point out that comparison of single and multiple vehicle motorcycle crashes juxtaposes subsets of crashes with clearly different causes (car drivers' possible failure to detect a motorcyclist against motorcyclists' loss of vehicle control). Comparing groups of crashes for which conspicuity can be posited as a common cause (car drivers' possible failure to detect a motorcyclist or car) may be a more enlightening comparison. The issue of exposure is also examined in this paper.
Accident Analysis & Prevention 09/1992; 24(4):363-8. · 1.87 Impact Factor
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ABSTRACT: Road accident casualties are major consumers of health service resources in Australia, using inpatient care, accident and emergency treatment and other facilities. We analysed hospitalisations resulting from road accidents in Western Australia from 1968 to 1987 to examine trends in accident types, deaths and casualties. Data from the Western Australian Health Department's Hospital Morbidity System were used. Although hospitalisations from road accidents generally decreased, they were still higher than the Australian average in 1985. The rate of decline in hospitalisations was similar to that for fatalities and was not generally related to age or sex. There was some evidence of a more rapid decline in the rate of severe injuries than in minor ones. Further steps need to be taken to reduce the number of casualties from road accidents, as road accidents represent a major public health problem in Western Australia.
Australian journal of public health 07/1992; 16(2):117-22.
