Professor James Harrison, AIHW’s National Injury Surveillance Unit based at Flinders University’s Research Centre for Injury Studies, joins Luke Grant to talk about a new report by the Australian Institute of Health & Welfare that shows the rate of head injuries from falls by older Australians has nearly doubled over the past decade.

 

The report, Trends in hospitalised injury due to falls in older people 2007–08 to 2016–17, shows that about 125,000 people aged 65 and over were seriously injured due to a fall in 2016–17. Injuries to the head (26%), hip and thigh (22%) were the most common.

 

‘Falls are common among older people and can result in fractures, head injuries, other serious injuries and even death,’ says Professor Harrison.

 

Rates of injuries to the head nearly doubled over the 10-year period to 2016–17 for both men and women.