Citation

Harris AH, Cercarelli LR, Hobbs MS. Aust. J. Public Health 1992; 16(2): 117-122.

Affiliation

Economics Programme, Murdoch University, Nedlands, WA.

Copyright

(Copyright © 1992, Public Health Association of Australia)

DOI

unavailable

PMID

1391152

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.