Injuries: population surveys

Population based information on injuries and variations among adults and children, by age and gender, are collected for every second publication of the annual Scottish Health Survey (SHeS). The latest data for the combined survey years 2019 and 2021 can be found in supplementary table 17 from the 2021 publication.

Injury information in this population survey is self-reported and defined as any accident occurring in the last 12 months which resulted in injury or physical harm where advice was sought from a doctor, nurse or other health professional, or which caused time to be taken off work or school.

Key points:

• In 2021, approximately 10% of adults and children reported having an accident in the previous twelve months.
• The proportion of adults reporting an accident has not changed since 2015, whilst the rate amongst children was the lowest reported since the time series began.
• Half of self-reported accidents amongst respondents were caused by a fall, trip or slip. This type of accident was particularly common amongst the oldest and youngest age groups (75% of those aged 65+ and 66% of those aged 0-7).
• For 2019/2021 combined, men in younger age groups were more likely than women to have had an accident, particularly in the 25-34 age group (15% and 5% respectively).