Skip to content
  1. Home
  2. Public Health
  3. NSW Health Survey Program
  4. Injury prevention
Print this page Reduce font size Increase font size

Injury prevention

Introduction

In New South Wales, on average, 20 deaths and 100 hospitalisations are attributed to house fires each year.[1,2] Most mortality and morbidity happens at night, while people are sleeping, and is due to smoke inhalation rather than burns. Functional and correctly situated smoke alarms detect low levels of smoke and sound an alarm before the smoke becomes too dense for people to escape. They dramatically reduce fatalities, injuries, and damage to property.[3] However, studies have shown a significant proportion of smoke alarms are not functional.[3,4,5]

The NSW Building Legislation Amendment (Smoke Alarms) Act 2005 commenced on 1 May 2006.[6] This legislation requires that: one or more smoke alarms are installed in residential buildings where people sleep, smoke alarms are maintained in functional order, and people do not remove these alarms or interfere with their operation.[6]

In Australia, among all age groups, drowning is the fourth largest cause of unintentional death.[7,8] The Department of Health and Aged Care has identified drowning and near drowning as one of the 4 priority areas within the National Injury Prevention Plan.[9] While there has been considerable success in reducing the death toll from drowning, most deaths are preventable. While data on death from drowning are available via the National Coroners Information System and the National Mortality Database,[10,11] information on events of near drowning is not readily available.

In 2006, the New South Wales Population Health Survey asked respondents: Do you have smoke alarms installed in your home? Are they hard wired or battery operated? When did you last test the battery operated smoke alarms? When did you last change the battery in your smoke alarms? When did you last test the hard wired smoke alarms? How many battery operated smoke alarms do you have? How many hard wired smoke alarms do you have? Have you had a fire in your home in the last 12 months? Does your household have a written home escape plan? When did your household last practice your home escape plan? In the last 4 weeks did you do any of the following: swimming, fishing, rock fishing, snorkelling, or scuba diving? Those who answered yes to the last question were asked: How would you rate your swimming ability?

Results

Fire safety measures in the home

Overall, in 2006, 86.9 per cent of New South Wales adults had a smoke alarm or detector, whether battery operated or hard wired or both, installed in their home. A significantly lower proportion of adults aged 16-25 years (82.1 per cent), and a significantly higher proportion of adults aged 35-44 years (89.5 per cent), had smoke alarms installed in their home, compared with the overall adult population. A significantly higher proportion of adults in rural areas (90.0 per cent) than urban areas (85.5 per cent) had a smoke alarm installed in their home. A higher proportion of adults in the Hunter & New England (92.2 per cent) and Northern Sydney & Central Coast (89.7 per cent) Health Areas, and a lower proportion of adults in the Sydney South West Health Area (82.5 per cent) had a smoke alarm installed in their home, compared with the overall adult population. The proportion of adults with smoke alarms installed in their home did not vary by socioeconomic status. The proportion of adults who had smoke alarms, whether battery operated or hard wired, installed in their home increased significantly from 1997 (58.2 per cent) to 2006 (86.9 per cent).

Of those adults with a battery operated alarm, 48.0 per cent tested the alarm within the last month, 34.2 per cent tested the alarm 1-5 months ago, 9.1 per cent tested the alarm 6-12 months ago, 3.1 per cent tested the alarm more than a year ago, and 5.3 per cent had never tested the alarm. Of those adults with a hard wired alarm, 35.8 per cent tested the alarm within the last month, 34.6 per cent tested the alarm 1-5 months ago, 11.5 per cent tested the alarm 6-12 months ago, 5.2 per cent tested the alarm more than a year ago, and 12.9 per cent had never tested the alarm.

Overall, in 2006, 0.7 per cent of New South Wales adults had a fire in the home that activated the alarm or detector. A significantly lower proportion of adults aged 25-34 years (0.3 per cent) had a fire in the home that activated the alarm, compared with the overall adult population. There was no significant difference in the proportion of adults in rural areas and urban areas who had a fire that activated the alarm or detector; however, a lower proportion of adults in the Sydney West Health Area (0.2 per cent) had a fire that activated the alarm or detector, compared with the overall adult population. The proportion of adults with a fire that activated the alarm or detector did not vary by socioeconomic status. The proportion of adults who had a fire that activated the alarm or detector decreased significantly from 1998 (2.4 per cent) to 2006 (0.7 per cent).

Overall, in 2006, 7.0 per cent of adults had a home escape plan and had practised it, 15.1 per cent had a home escape plan but had never practised it, and 77.9 per cent did not have a home escape plan.

Swimming, fishing, rock fishing, snorkelling or scuba diving in the last 4 weeks

In 2006, just over one in 5 adults (22.8 per cent) swam, fished, rock fished, snorkelled or scuba dived in the last 4 weeks. A significantly lower proportion of females (18.5 per cent) than males (27.2 per cent) swam, fished, rock fished, snorkelled or scuba dived in the last 4 weeks. A significantly higher proportion of adults aged 16-24 years (28.6 per cent) and 25-34 years (27.0 per cent) and 35-44 years (29.9 per cent), and a significantly lower proportion of adults aged 55-64 years (16.3 per cent) and 65-74 years (14.0 per cent) and 75 years and over (7.0 per cent), swam, fished, rock fished, snorkelled or scuba dived in the last 4 weeks, compared with the overall adult population.

There was no significant difference in the proportion of adults in rural areas and urban areas who swam, fished, rock fished, snorkelled or scuba dived in the last 4 weeks. A higher proportion of adults in the North Coast (28.2 per cent) and South Eastern Sydney & Illawarra (27.0 per cent) and Northern Sydney & Central Coast (29.2 per cent) Health Areas, and a lower proportion of residents in the Sydney West (13.7 per cent) and Greater Western (12.7 per cent) Health Areas, swam, fished, rock fished, snorkelled or scuba dived in the last 4 weeks, compared with the overall adult population.

A higher proportion of adults in the least disadvantaged quintile (26.9 per cent), and a lower proportion of adults in the most disadvantaged quintile (19.0 per cent), swam, fished, rock fished, snorkelled or scuba dived in the last 4 weeks, compared with the overall adult population.

In 2006, New South Wales adults who swam, fished, rock fished, snorkelled or scuba dived in the last 4 weeks were asked to rate their swimming ability. Of those, 27.0 per cent rated themselves as a very good swimmer, 28.3 per cent as a good swimmer, 36.4 per cent as an average swimmer, 7.7 per cent as a poor swimmer, and 0.6 per cent said they could not swim.

Ratings of very good and good were combined to give an overall positive rating of swimming ability. In 2006, 55.3 per cent of adults who swam, fished, rock fished, snorkelled or scuba dived in the last 4 weeks were very good or good swimmers. A significantly lower proportion of females (47.1 per cent) than males (61.0 per cent) were very good or good swimmers. Swimming ability decreased with age. A significantly higher proportion of adults aged 16-24 years (71.9 per cent) and 25-34 years (66.6 per cent) were very good or good swimmers. A significantly lower proportion of adults aged 45-54 years (43.0 per cent), 55-64 per cent (37.0 per cent), 65-74 years (28.0 per cent), and 75 years and over (32.1 per cent), were very good or good swimmers.

The proportion of adults who swam, fished, rock fished, snorkelled or scuba dived in the last 4 weeks who were very good or good swimmers did not vary significantly between urban areas and rural areas, or by level of socioeconomic disadvantage; however, a lower proportion of residents in Sydney South West Health Area (45.9 per cent) were very good or good swimmers, compared with the overall adult population who swam, fished, rock fished, snorkelled or scuba dived in the last 4 weeks.

References

  1. Schmertmann M, Finch C, and Williamson A. NSW Injury Profile: A review of injury deaths during 1998-2002. Sydney: NSW Injury Risk Management Research Centre, 2004. Available online at www.irmrc.unsw.edu.au (accessed 9 May 2007).
  2. Hayen A, and Mitchell R. NSW Injury Profile: A review of injury dospitalisations during 1989-90 to 2003-04. Sydney: NSW Injury Risk Management Research Centre, 2005. Available online at www.irmrc.unsw.edu.au (accessed 9 May 2007).
  3. Haddix A, Mallonee S, Waxweiler R, Douglas M. Cost effectiveness analysis of a smoke alarm giveaway program in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. Injury Prevention 2001; 7: 276-281. Abstract available online at www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=pubmed&dopt=Abstract&list_uids=11770651 (accessed 9 May 2007).
  4. Douglas M, Mallonee S, Istre G. Estimating the proportion of homes with functioning smoke alarms: A comparison of telephone survey and household survey results. Am J Public Health 1999; 89(7): 1112-1114. Abstract available online at www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=pubmed&dopt=Abstract&list_uids=10394329 (accessed 9 May 2007).
  5. Australasian Fire Authorities Council. Accidental fire fatalities in residential structures: Who's at risk? Melbourne: Australasian Fire Authorities Council, 2005. Available online at www.afac.com.au/awsv2/publications/documents/ResidentialFireFatalitiesReportOctober2005.pdf (accessed 9 May 2007).
  6. NSW Fire Brigades. Smoke Alarm web page and What Does The Legislation Mean? web page at www.nswfb.nsw.gov.au (accessed 9 May 2007).
  7. Australian Water Safety Council. National Water Safety Plan 2004-2007. Sydney: Australian Water Safety Council, 2004.
  8. Royal Life Saving Society. The NSW Drowning Report 2004. Available from www.safewaters.nsw.gov.au/statistics.htm, accessed 5 June 2007.
  9. Strategic Injury Prevention Partnership. National Injury Prevention Plan: Priorities for 2001-2003. Canberra: Department of Health and Aged Care, 2004.
  10. Monash University National Centre for Coronial Information. The National Coroners Information System. Available from www.vifp.monash.edu.au/ncis, accessed 5 June 2007.
  11. Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW). The AIHW National Mortality Database. Available from www.aihw.gov.au/mortality/mortality_database.cfm, accessed 5 June 2007.

Graphs

Source: New South Wales Population Health Survey 2006 (HOIST). Centre for Epidemiology and Research, NSW Department of Health.
Print version: Although this page can be printed directly from your web browser, a higher quality version is available as a PDF file that can be printed or viewed on screen.
Produced by: Centre for Epidemiology and Research, Population Health Division, NSW Department of Health.
Last updated on: 1 July 2007

Print this page Reduce font size Increase font size