Nova Scotia's Renewed Injury Prevention Strategy - Government of ...

Putting it in perspectiveThe injury-related deaths of 425 Nova Scotianseach year is almost double the number ofpeople lost in the tragic crash of Swissair Flight111 off the coast of Nova Scotia in 1998.Over a 10-year period, this loss of life (4,250people) equates to losing the entire populationof a town roughly the size of Antigonish orStellarton.Nova Scotia SnapshotBased on a review of injury deaths for the period2001–2007 13 ,• On average, 425 Nova Scotians die each year as aresult of injury.• More than half of all deaths among males underage 40 were the result of injury.• One-third of all deaths among females under age40 were the result of injury.• Across all ages, males accounted for 65% ofinjury-related deaths.• Injury is a particular threat to youth, accountingfor 67% of deaths among Nova Scotians aged15–29 years.• Injury killed more children aged 1–19 years thanall other causes of death combined.• Approximately one youth died from an injury eachweek in Nova Scotia.• An average of 108 people each year, mostlyseniors, died as a result of a fall, representingnearly 26% of all injury-related deaths. Femalesaccounted for 57% of fall-related deaths.• On average, 93 people died by suicide each year.Of these, 83% were male.• On average, 80 people died each year as a resultof car crashes. Males accounted for nearly 75% ofthese deaths.• On average, 13 people died by homicide eachyear. More than three-quarters of them were male.Based on a review of injury-related hospitalizationsfor the period 2001–2007 14 ,• There were nearly 43,000 injury-relatedhospitalizations in Nova Scotia, an average of 17hospitalizations per day and 6,130 per year.• Injury consumed more than 600,000 hospitaldays, an average of nearly 86,000 per year. Thismeans that on any given day, 236 of theprovince’s hospital beds were occupied by injuredNova Scotians.• Injury accounted for 7% of the total number ofhospitalizations. These hospitalizations wereevenly split among males and females.• Falls resulted in an average of 3,317hospitalizations each year. Females accounted forjust over 61% of the total. Fall-related injuriesmade up 54% of the injury-relatedhospitalizations.• Motor vehicle crashes contributed to an averageof 636 injury-related hospitalizations each year.Males accounted for 68% of thesehospitalizations. Motor vehicle crashes representjust over 10% of the total number of injuryrelatedhospitalizations.• Self-harm, including suicide attempts, accountedfor about 9% of injury-related hospitalizations. Anaverage of 548 self-harm-related hospitalizationsoccurred each year, with females accounting for56% of the total.• Assaults represented 4% of all injury-relatedhospitalizations (an average of 234hospitalizations per year). Males accounted fornearly 85% of these hospitalizations.Taking It to the Next Level Nova Scotia’s Renewed Injury Prevention Strategy17