Emergency Visits
Hospitalizations
Deaths
Emergency Visits
According to the National Ambulatory Care Reporting System (NACRS), there were approximately 185 emergency visits for pedestrian injured in transport accidents in Simcoe Muskoka in 2020. The age-standardized rate for pedestrian injury emergency visits in Simcoe Muskoka for all ages and sexes in 2020 was 31.0 (26.6, 35.9) visits per 100,000 population, which was not significantly lower from the Ontario rate of 31.1 (30.2, 32.0) visits per 100,000 population.
The pedestrian injury emergency visit rates dropped in 2020 by nearly 25% in Simcoe Muskoka and by 33% in 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 also reasonable to assume that pandemic measures that resulted in less vehicular travel also contributed to this decline.
The trend in the pedestrian injury emergency visit rates in Ontario was relatively flat from 2003 to 2016, followed by a small but significant drop in the rates from 2016 to 2019. The Simcoe Muskoka rates drop significantly from 2004 to 2005 and have remained relatively stable from 2005 to 2019. It is unclear why the rates in Simcoe Muskoka from 2005 onward were significantly lower than the 2003 to 2004 rates. The Simcoe Muskoka pedestrian injury emergency visit rates were significantly lower than the provincial rates from 2005 to 2019.
The age-standardized rate for pedestrian injury emergency visits in Simcoe Muskoka among males in 2020 was 38.7 (31.9, 46.7) visits per 100,000, which was higher than the Simcoe Muskoka female rate of 22.8 (17.6, 29.0) visits per 100,000. The pedestrian injury emergency visit rate among Simcoe Muskoka males only dropped by 5% in 2020, whereas the rate among Simcoe Muskoka females dropped by more than 40%. In Ontario, the decline in rates were similar among males and females in 2020 (both dropping by 33%). The reason for the different pattern in Simcoe Muskoka is unclear.
The age-specific rate for pedestrian injury emergency visits between 2016 and 2020 (combined) in Simcoe Muskoka was highest among those 20 to 44 years of age at 52.0 (47.4, 57.0) visits per 100,000 populations. The age-specific Simcoe Muskoka rates were significantly lower than the comparable provincial rates for adults 45 years of age and older; however, the local rates were similar to the provincial rates for those under 45 years of age.
In 2020, the pedestrian injury emergency visit rate for children and youth under 20 years of age decreased by approximately 40% in both Simcoe Muskoka and Ontario overall. Prior to 2020, rates among children and youth had already been declining significantly, both locally and across the province.
For the time period from 2016 to 2020 (combined) in Simcoe Muskoka, emergency visits for pedestrian injuries were more than three times higher among those living in areas with the highest amount of material deprivation when compared with those living in the least deprived areas (as measured by the 2016 Ontario Marginalization Index).
Hospitalizations
There were 30 hospitalizations for pedestrian related injuries in Simcoe Muskoka in 2020. This was about one-third lower than the average from the previous three years. In 2020, the rate of pedestrian injury hospitalizations in Simcoe Muskoka was 5.0 (3.3, 7.2) admissions per 100,000 which was similar to the provincial rate of 5.6 (5.2, 6.0) admissions per 100,000. From 2003 to 2019, the pedestrian injury hospitalization rate was significantly higher for males when compared with females and this was true both locally and for the province overall.
For the time-period from 2016 to 2020 (combined) in Simcoe Muskoka, the age-specific hospitalization rate was highest among older seniors (75+) at 12.4 (8.3, 17.8) admissions per 100,000 in Simcoe Muskoka. The provincial pedestrian injury hospitalization rates were significantly higher than the local rates for seniors 65 years and older.
Deaths
Over the 16-year period between 2000 and 2015, 81 Simcoe Muskoka pedestrians died in transport accidents. More than two-thirds of the decedents were males and four-in-five deaths were as a result of a traffic collision. Pedestrian mortality is highest among older seniors (75 years of age and older). The pedestrian mortality rate in Simcoe Muskoka was not significantly different from the comparable provincial rate for any age-group over this period of time. The death data come from the Vital Statistics database for Ontario.
