Injury mortality and morbidity in New Zealand

The effects of health status, distress, alcohol and medicinal drug use on subsequent motor vehicle injuries

“…Passenger belt use also decreased among adolescents as the number of passengers in the vehicle increased. Consistent with other studies (Broyles et al, 2003;Jonah, 1990;Langley and McLoughlin, 1989;Naimi et al, 2003;Powell et al, 2002;Singleton et al, 2004;Williams and Shabanova, 2002), young persons were found to engage in higher levels of binge drinking and a greater percentage of females reported MVC injuries compared to males.…”

“…Relevant variables available in the survey, that have been found to affect MVC injuries, included control variables of age, sex, immigration status and four risk factors of binge drinking, health status, distress, and psychotropic medication use (Alvarez et al, 2001;Bell et al, 2000;Braver and Trempel, 2004;Broyles et al, 2003;Cherpitel, 1993;Chipman, 1995;Ellinwood and Heatherly, 1985;Fife et al, 1984;Koepsell et al, 1994;Kypri et al, 2002;Lagarde et al, 2004;Langley and McLoughlin, 1989;McLeod et al, 2003;Sagberg, 2006;Selzer and Vinokur, 1974;Selzer et al, 1968;Singleton et al, 2004;Tavris et al, 2001;Vaa et al, 2003;Vingilis and MacDonald, 2002;Vinglis and Wilk, 2007;Walsh et al, 2004;Zhang et al, 2000). These variables could affect exposure; for example, males drive more than females and therefore are at greater risk of being involved in a MVC (Chipman et al, 1992(Chipman et al, , 1993.…”

Hospital Morbidity due to Head Injuries in New Zealand in 1980–1988

“…Life time costs for all head injuries contribute 29% of all injury costs, although they make up only 13% of events, indicating the relatively ex pensive consequences of head injury. In New Zealand injuries caused 11.6% of admissions and accounted for 6.5% of costs [16]. Using average admission costs of $3,760 for skull fractures, and $955 for intracranial injury, the 40,000 bed-days consumed by HI in 1988 would cost $9.9 million [17], Assuming that direct costs were one sixth of HI costs, the total cost of HI could then be estimated at $60 I million.…”

Prevalence of risk and protective factors for falls in the home environment in a population‐based survey of young and middle‐aged adult New Zealanders

“…G lobally, falls are a leading source of injury-related morbidity and a significant contributor to injuryrelated mortality, with the majority of falls occurring in the home setting. 1,2 In New Zealand falls are responsible for around 43% of unintentional injury hospitalisations and 21% of unintentional injury deaths. 3 Traditionally, the focus of fall prevention strategies has been children and older people as the incidence of falls is greatest among these age groups.…”