Association of Ethnicity with Unintentional Injury-Related Hospitalisation and Mortality among Older People Residing in Two Regions of Aotearoa New Zealand

ObjectivesTo characterise unintentional injury-related hospitalisation and mortality amongst older adults (aged 50+ years) in the Lakes and Bay of Plenty District Health Boards of Aotearoa New Zealand and to examine whether hospitalisation patterns differed by ethnicity.MethodsThis observational study analysed unintentional injury-related hospitalisations and deaths among older adults between 2014 and 2018. Routinely collected national data sets were used to calculate annualised, age-standardised injury rates. The independent variable of interest was ethnicity (Maori or non-Maori).ResultsThere were 11,834 unintentional injury-related hospitalisations in the study period (n = 1444 for Maori). Overall, there was no significant difference in the age-standardised hospitalisation rate between Maori and non-Maori (Standardised Rate Ratio [SRR] = 0.96 [95% CI 0.90, 1.02]). Falls were the most common mechanism of injury among Maori and non-Maori overall (50% and 71%) and relative risks of falls increased with age. Non-Maori were 57% less likely to be hospitalised for unintentional poisoning than Maori (SRR = 0.43, [0.34, 0.59]).ConclusionsThe mechanisms of injury, and variation in unintentional injury-related hospitalisation rates between Maori and non-Maori, change throughout older age, and incidence increase0073 with age. Falls cause significant injury-related hospitalisations for older Maori and responsive injury prevention and rehabilitation efforts are warranted to achieve equitable health outcomes.