Hospitalizations for unintentional injuries among Canadian adults in areas with a high percentage of Aboriginal-identity residents.

Introduction: Injuries are a leading cause of death and morbidity. While individual Aboriginal identifiers are not routinely available on national administrative databases, this study examines unintentional injury hospitalization, by cause, in areas with a high percentage of Aboriginal-identity residents.

Methods: Age-standardized hospitalization rates (ASHRs) and rate ratios were calculated based on 2004/2005-2009/2010 data from the Discharge Abstract Database.

Results: Falls were the most frequent cause of injury. For both sexes, ASHRs were highest in high-percentage First Nations-identity areas; high-percentage Métis-identity areas presented the highest overall ASHR among men aged 20-29 years, and high-percentage Inuit-identity areas presented the lowest ASHRs among men of all age groups. Some causes, such as falls, presented a high ASHR but a rate ratio similar to that for all causes combined; other causes, such as firearm injuries among men in high-percentage First Nations-identity areas, presented a relatively low ASHR but a high rate ratio. Residents of high-percentage Aboriginal-identity areas have a higher ASHR for hospitalization for injuries than residents of low-percentage Aboriginal-identity areas.

Conclusion: Residents of high-percentage Aboriginal-identity areas also live in areas of lower socio-economic conditions, suggesting that the causes for rate differences among areas require further investigation.