Emergency Visits
Hospitalizations
Deaths
This HealthSTATS page provides data on injuries suffered from an accidental fall. This page excludes falls-related injuries due to intentional self-harm or assault. It also excludes falls from: an animal, burning building, machinery while in operation, and transportation vehicles. Injuries were the leading cause of emergency visits among seniors (65+) and more than half these injury-related visits were due to a fall.
For more local data on injuries and other health topics see the interactive dashboards available on Simcoe Muskoka HealthMAPS.
Emergency Visits
According to the National Ambulatory Care Reporting System (NACRS), there were nearly 19,400 emergency visits for fall-related injuries in Simcoe Muskoka in 2020.
The age-standardized rate for fall-related injury emergency visits in Simcoe Muskoka for all ages and sexes in 2020 was 3,070 (3,026, 3,115) visits per 100,000 population, which was significantly higher than the Ontario rate of 2,486 (2,478, 2,494) visits per 100,000.
The fall-related injury emergency visit rates dropped in 2020 by nearly 20% in Simcoe Muskoka and by 25% for Ontario overall. This sudden and dramatic drop can be attributed, at least in part, to changes in health care use and access during the COVID-19 pandemic. It is unclear how changes in behaviours and activities due to pandemic restrictions may have also contributed to the drop in the rates.
There was a significant downward trend in the fall-related injury emergency visit rates in Simcoe Muskoka from 2003 to 2010; however, there was a reversal in the trend from 2010 to 2019 where rates increased significantly. There was a significant upward trend in the provincial rates from 2003 to 2019. The Simcoe Muskoka rates were significantly higher than the comparable provincial rates since 2003.
The age-standardized rate for fall-related injury emergency visits in Simcoe Muskoka among males in 2020 was 2,856 (2,796, 2,917) visits per 100,000, which was significantly lower than the Simcoe Muskoka female rate of 3,255 (3,192, 3,319) visits per 100,000.
The 2020 fall-related injury emergency visit rates dropped by about 20% among Simcoe Muskoka males and females. The local rates have been significantly higher than the comparable provincial rates for both males and females since 2003.
The age-specific rate for fall-related injury emergency visits between 2016 and 2020 (combined) in Simcoe Muskoka was highest among seniors 75 years of age and older at 9,542 (9,417, 9,668) visits per 100,000. This was more than twice the rate for any other age-group over this time period. The age-specific rates in Simcoe Muskoka were significantly higher than the comparable provincial rates for all age-groups.
In 2020, the age-specific rate for fall-related injury emergency visits among seniors (65+) was significantly higher in Simcoe Muskoka at 5,400 (5,269, 5,533) visits per 100,000 when compared with the provincial rate of 5,030 (5,003, 5,058) visits per 100,000. Both the Simcoe Muskoka and Ontario falls-related injury emergency visit rates among seniors (65+) increased significantly from 2003 to 2019 before dropping by 20% in 2020.
In 2020 among seniors (65+) in Simcoe Muskoka, the age-specific rate for fall-related injury emergency visits was significantly higher for females at 6,287 (6,095, 6,484) visits per 100,000 when compared with the male rate of 4,376 (4,204, 4,553) visits per 100,000. The female rates in Simcoe Muskoka have been significantly higher than the male rates every year since 2003.
For the time period from 2016 to 2020 (combined) in Simcoe Muskoka, falls-related injury emergency visit rates were highest among those living in areas with the highest amount of material deprivation (as measured by the 2016 Ontario Marginalization Index).
Hospitalizations
On average, there were over 1,900 hospitalizations per year for fall-related injuries in Simcoe Muskoka between 2016 and 2020 and three-quarters of these hospitalizations were for seniors (65 years and older). Less than one-in-ten emergency visit for a fall-related emergency visit led to a hospital admission; however, the proportion of visits leading to an admission increased significantly with age.
The age-standardized rate for fall-related injury hospitalizations in Simcoe Muskoka for all ages and sexes in 2020 was 276.4 (264.3, 288.9) admissions per 100,000 population, which was not significantly different from the Ontario rate of 268.0 (265.5, 270.5) admissions per 100,000 population.
There was a significant downward trend in the fall-related injury hospitalization rates in both Simcoe Muskoka and Ontario from 2003 to 2009; however, neither the local nor provincial rates changed significantly from 2010 to 2020. The Simcoe Muskoka fall-related injury hospitalization rates were significantly lower than the provincial rates from 2013 to 2015; however, the local rates have been similar to the provincial rates for the past five years of available data (2016 to 2020).
There was a small drop in the fall-related injury hospitalization rates in 2020 in both Simcoe Muskoka and Ontario (less than 10%). It is unclear why the decrease in the falls-related hospitalization rates were smaller than the decrease in the emergency visit rates. This difference might be attributed to changes in health care use and access during the COVID-19 pandemic, particularly for falls-related injuries perceived to be less serious.
The age-standardized rate for fall-related injury hospitalizations in Simcoe Muskoka among males in 2020 was 253.5 (236.4, 271.6) admissions per 100,000, which was significantly lower than the Simcoe Muskoka female rate of 289.8 (273.3, 307.3) admissions per 100,000.
The age-specific rate for fall-related injury hospitalizations increases exponentially with age. Between 2016 and 2020 (combined) in Simcoe Muskoka, the falls hospitalization rate was highest among seniors 75 years of age and older at 2,385 (2,322, 2,447.9) admissions per 100,000, which was more than four times the rate for seniors 65 to 74 and more than ten times the rate for any other age group. The provincial falls hospitalization rate among older seniors (75 years and older) was significantly higher than the comparable local rate over this five-year period.
In 2020, the age-specific rate for fall-related injury hospitalizations among seniors (65+) was 1,282.5 (1,219.3, 1,348.2) admissions per 100,000 in Simcoe Muskoka, which was similar to the provincial rate of 1,288 (1,274, 1,301.9) admissions per 100,000. The falls-related injury hospitalization rates decreased slightly in 2020 among both Simcoe Muskoka and Ontario seniors (65+). Rates increased slightly but not significantly in both Simcoe Muskoka and Ontario from 2007 to 2019.
In 2020 among seniors (65+) in Simcoe Muskoka, the age-specific rate for fall-related injury hospitalizations was significantly higher for females at 1,517.8 (1,424.1, 1,616.1) admissions per 100,000 when compared with the male rate of 1,011.0 (929.3, 1,098.0) admissions per 100,000. The female falls-related injury hospitalizations rates among seniors (65+) in Simcoe Muskoka has been significantly higher than the male rates since 2003.
Between 2016 and 2020, nearly one-in-five fall-related emergency visits among seniors (65+) in Simcoe Muskoka were due to an injury to the head; however, only one-tenth of these visits led to a subsequent hospital admission. Conversely, less than one-in-ten fall-related emergency visits among seniors (65+) in Simcoe Muskoka were due to an injury to the hip or thigh, with more than two-thirds of these visits leading to a hospital admission.
For the time period from 2016 to 2020 (combined) in Simcoe Muskoka, falls-related injury hospitalization rates were highest among those living in areas with the highest amount of material deprivation (as measured by the 2016 Ontario Marginalization Index).
Deaths
Falls is the leading cause of injury-related death in Simcoe Muskoka. On average over the five-year period between 2011 and 2015, more than 100 Simcoe Muskoka residents died per year as a result of a fall. More than 90 per cent of those that died from a fall in Simcoe Muskoka over this time-period were seniors (65 years of age and older). The age-standardized falls mortality rate in Simcoe Muskoka (18.8 (17.2, 20.4) deaths per 100,000) was significantly higher than the comparable provincial rate (17.0 (16.7, 17.3) deaths per 100,000) over this five-year period.
The age-specific rates for fall-related mortality increases exponentially with age. Between 2011 and 2015 (combined) in Simcoe Muskoka, the falls mortality rate was highest among seniors 75 years of age and older at 237.7 (216.8, 260.1) deaths per 100,000, which was more than ten-times the rate of seniors 65 to 74 and more than thirty times the rate for any other age group. The age-specific local falls mortality rates were not significantly different from the comparable provincial rates over this time period.
There was a significant upward trend in falls-related mortality among seniors (65+) both in Simcoe Muskoka and for Ontario as a whole from 2000 to 2015.
The death data come from the Vital Statistics database for Ontario.