The statistics are startling and staggering:

• Between 1992 and 1999, on average, there were nearly 20,000 unintentional home injury deaths per year.
• The average annual death rate from unintentional home injury is 6.83 deaths per 100,000 persons.
• Older adults, both men and women, experience the highest rates of unintentional home injury death among all age groups, with those over the age of 80 years experiencing death rates more than 20 times greater than their younger counterparts.
• Between 1996 and 2000, an average of nearly 21 million medical visits were made each year due to home injuries.
• Between 1997 and 2001, an average of 12 million nonfatal unintentional home injuries were reported each year, with falls accounting for the majority of the injuries (5.1 million).
• The top five leading causes of nonfatal unintentional home injury are falls, struck by/against, cut/pierce, overexertion, and poisoning; these account for about 80% of all these injuries. Of these, falls account for 41.2% of all nonfatal unintentional home injuries.
• An average of 2,096 children younger than 15 die each year as a result of an unintentional home injury. The top five leading causes of unintentional home injury death in this age group are fire/burn, choking/suffocation, drowning/submersion, firearm, and poisoning.
• Each year, an average of more than 7,000 adults age 65 and older die from unintentional home injuries. The top five leading causes of these home injury deaths are falls, fire/burn, poisoning, natural/environmental (e.g., exposure to severe heat or cold or a natural disaster), and choking/suffocation.
• Falls alone account for 52.5% of all home injury deaths for adults age 65-74, 68.2% of home injury deaths for adults age 75-84, and 78.4% of home injury deaths for adults age 85 and older.

References

1. Carmona, R.H. and J. McCabe. Improving the health and wellness of persons with disabilities: a call to action. American Journal of Public Health, 2005. 95: p. 1883.
2. Runyan, C.W., et al. Risk factors for fatal residential fires. New England Journal of Medicine, 1992. 327: p. 859-863.
3. Marshall, S.W., et al. Fatal residential fires: who dies and who survives? Journal of the American Medical Association, 1998. 279: p. 1633-1637.
4. McGee, K.M., et al. Prevalence of home safety practices among households where a person with a disability resides, manuscript in preparation.
5. Lyons RA, et al. Modification of the home environment for the reduction of injuries. The Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, 2005(4).

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