Self-harm Hospitalization Rates Three Times Higher For Australian Teenagers Than Adults: Report

CANBERRA, (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 18th Apr, 2024) Australian teenagers are three times more likely to be hospitalized with injuries caused by self-harm than adults, government data has revealed.

According to a report published by the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW) on Thursday, 6,612 children and adolescents aged 0-18 were hospitalized due to intentional self-harm in the 12-month period to the end of June 2022.

Females accounted for 5,477, or 82.8 percent, of self-harm hospitalizations among children and teenagers, the report said.

Of the total 6,612 children and teenagers who were hospitalized due to self-harm, more than 95 percent were aged 16-18.

Among the 16-18 age group the hospitalization rate due to intentional self-harm was 340.7 per 100,000 people, 3.4 times higher than the 99.4 per 100,000 people among the adult population.

Overall there were 88,766 Australians aged 0-18 who were hospitalized due to injury in the 12-month period covered by the report.

Falls were the most common cause of injury requiring hospitalization, accounting for 32.6 percent of the total, followed by contact with objects, and fractures were the most common type of injury.