Injury Costs Across the Lifespan
Injury Costs Across the Lifespan
Every stage of life presents the potential to live life to the fullest. The causes, outcomes and costs of injury shift over the course of a person’s lifetime.
Injury outcome
The total cost of injuries to children (up to 14 years) was $123 million in 2018. Total cost was $283 million for youth and young adults (ages 15 to 24), $801 million for adults (ages 25 to 64) and $580 million for older adults.
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Cost type
Costs for falls totalled $52 million for injuries in children and $463 million for injuries in older adults. For falls among older adults, the highest total cost was for injuries to females aged 85-plus ($308 million).
Transport incidents was the top contributor to total injury costs for youth and young adults, at $77 million. Suicide/self-harm were second with a total cost of $70 million for this age category.
Leading causes of injury
Falls were the biggest contributor to total and direct costs for injury in children, adults and older adults. Among youth and young adults, transport incidents had the highest total and direct costs. Among youth and young adults, and adults, suicide/self-harm were the biggest contributor to indirect costs.
The causes associated with highest direct costs were falls for children, adults, and older adults, and transport incidents for youth and young adults.
Indirect costs for injuries among older adults are presented as zero due to the methodology used, which assumes a retirement age of 65. While this may be an accepted standard methodology for this type of study, it is not reflective of the participation of older adults in the workforce in Atlantic Canada, which continues to grow. This will be revisited in future reports.
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