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CMAJ Today!

'Injury epidemic' strikes Ontario

Date: Dec. 15, 1999
Time: 3:54 pm

Unintentional injuries in Ontario cost $2.9 billion a year according to the first ever Canadian study that attaches a price tag to the magnitude of injury in a province. The study conducted by the nonprofit injury prevention group SMARTRISK, in partnership with the Ontario Ministry of Health and Long Term Care, revealed that:

  • Falls were the costliest injury, accounting for more than 40% of the total cost; some $1.3 billion
  • Motor vehicle crashes accounted for almost $600 million (roughly 20% of the total)
  • Drowning, poisoning, fires and pedestrian injuries made up the remaining 40%.

"The staggering costs demonstrated by this study reveal that Ontario is suffering from an injury epidemic," Dr. Robert Conn, president of SMARTRISK, told eCMAJ Today.

Even he was surprised by the results. "We assumed motor vehicles would be number 1. It's pretty shocking to find out it's falls."

Seven hundred thousand injured in Ontario

The Economic Burden of Unintentional Injury in Ontario documents the 739 856 Ontarians who were injured seriously enough to require medical attention in 1996. More than 2800 of these people died. Direct health care costs amounted to $1.5 billion and $1.4 billion resulted from partial or permanent disabilities leading to losses in productivity. Medical expenses and lost days at work due to unintentional injuries cost each Ontario resident about $260.

"Investing in injury prevention makes sense," said Conn. " Injuries are not accidents, they don't just happen. They are predictable and preventable and Ontarians do not need to spend nearly $3 billion each year treated the nearly 750 000 injuries that could have been prevented in the first place."

The magnitude of the numbers captured the Ontario's government attention. On Dec. 13, minister of health, Elizabeth Witmer announced that the province will invest $5 million over 5 years in a ground-breaking partnership with SMARTRISK, to help reduce unintentional injuries in Ontario.

SMARTRISK will use the funding to develop a provincial injury prevention strategy focusing on research, information sharing, program support and development and social marketing.

— Barbara Sibbald, Ottawa

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