Demographic and hospital use characteristics of young people hospitalised after a burn and their matched comparison by grade
| Characteristics | Grade 3* | Grade 5† | Grade 7‡ | Grade 9§ | ||||||||||||
| Burn case (n=2148) | Comparison (n=2148) | Burn case (n=1661) | Comparison (n=1661) | Burn case (n=1077) | Comparison (n=1077) | Burn case (n=476) | Comparison (n=476) | |||||||||
| n | % | n | % | n | % | n | % | n | % | n | % | n | % | n | % | |
| Sex | ||||||||||||||||
| Male | 1197 | 55.7 | 1197 | 55.7 | 940 | 56.6 | 940 | 56.6 | 606 | 56.3 | 606 | 56.3 | 262 | 55.0 | 262 | 55.0 |
| Female | 951 | 44.3 | 951 | 44.3 | 721 | 43.4 | 721 | 43.4 | 471 | 43.7 | 471 | 43.7 | 214 | 45.0 | 214 | 45.0 |
| Location of residence | ||||||||||||||||
| Urban | 1546 | 72.0 | 1546 | 72.0 | 1176 | 70.8 | 1176 | 70.8 | 768 | 71.3 | 768 | 71.3 | 335 | 70.4 | 335 | 70.4 |
| Rural | 602 | 28.0 | 602 | 28.0 | 485 | 29.2 | 485 | 29.2 | 309 | 28.7 | 309 | 28.7 | 141 | 29.6 | 141 | 29.6 |
| Not known | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| Socioeconomic status | ||||||||||||||||
| Most disadvantaged | 625 | 29.1 | 625 | 29.1 | 480 | 28.9 | 480 | 28.9 | 300 | 27.9 | 300 | 27.9 | 136 | 28.6 | 136 | 28.6 |
| 2 | 561 | 26.1 | 561 | 26.1 | 426 | 25.7 | 426 | 25.7 | 261 | 24.2 | 261 | 24.2 | 105 | 22.1 | 105 | 22.1 |
| 3 | 444 | 20.7 | 444 | 20.7 | 344 | 20.7 | 344 | 20.7 | 233 | 21.6 | 233 | 21.6 | 98 | 20.6 | 98 | 20.6 |
| 4 | 197 | 9.2 | 197 | 9.2 | 148 | 8.9 | 148 | 8.9 | 98 | 9.1 | 98 | 9.1 | 58 | 12.2 | 58 | 12.2 |
| Least disadvantaged | 320 | 14.9 | 320 | 14.9 | 262 | 15.8 | 262 | 15.8 | 185 | 17.2 | 185 | 17.2 | 79 | 16.6 | 79 | 16.6 |
| Not known | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| LBOTE | ||||||||||||||||
| Non-LBOTE | 1502 | 69.9 | 1532 | 71.3 | 1171 | 70.5 | 1215 | 73.2 | 777 | 72.3 | 808 | 75.2 | 348 | 73.3 | 356 | 75.0 |
| LBOTE | 637 | 29.7 | 606 | 28.2 | 485 | 29.2 | 441 | 26.6 | 298 | 27.7 | 267 | 24.8 | 127 | 26.7 | 119 | 25.1 |
| Not known | 9 | 0.4 | 10 | 0.5 | 5 | 0.3 | 5 | 0.3 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| Chronic health condition | ||||||||||||||||
| 0 | 2136 | 99.4 | 2121 | 98.7 | 1651 | 99.4 | 1633 | 98.3 | 1070 | 99.4 | 1057 | 98.1 | 471 | 99.0 | 467 | 98.1 |
| ≥1 | 12 | 0.6 | 27 | 1.3 | 10 | 0.6 | 28 | 1.7 | 7 | 0.7 | 20 | 1.9 | 5 | 1.1 | 9 | 1.9 |
| Parent highest level of education | ||||||||||||||||
| Year 11 or year 12 high school or equivalent | 349 | 16.3 | 246 | 11.5 | 343 | 20.7 | 244 | 14.7 | 209 | 19.4 | 147 | 13.7 | 89 | 18.7 | 70 | 14.7 |
| Certificate I-IV, trade, diploma or advanced diploma | 1037 | 48.3 | 1038 | 48.3 | 801 | 48.2 | 820 | 49.3 | 544 | 50.5 | 563 | 52.3 | 242 | 50.8 | 241 | 50.6 |
| Bachelor degree or higher | 604 | 28.1 | 750 | 34.9 | 476 | 28.7 | 571 | 34.4 | 310 | 28.8 | 354 | 32.9 | 138 | 29.0 | 159 | 33.4 |
| Not stated/not known | 158 | 7.4 | 114 | 5.3 | 41 | 2.5 | 26 | 1.6 | 14 | 1.3 | 13 | 1.2 | 7 | 1.5 | 6 | 1.3 |
| Healthcare use | Median | IQR | Median | IQR | Median | IQR | Median | IQR | Median | IQR | Median | IQR | Median | IQR | Median | IQR |
| ED visits | 5.0 | 6.0 | 3.0 | 5.0 | 6.0 | 6.0 | 3.0 | 5.0 | 6.0 | 6.0 | 3.0 | 4.0 | 5.0 | 5.0 | 2.0 | 4.0 |
| Hospital admissions | 3.0 | 2.0 | 1.0 | 2.0 | 3.0 | 2.0 | 1.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 3.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 0 | 1.0 |
| Hospital length of stay (days) | 4.0 | 7.0 | 1.0 | 5.0 | 4.0 | 7.0 | 1.0 | 5.0 | 4.0 | 6.0 | 1.0 | 4.0 | 3.0 | 5.0 | 0 | 1.0 |
*Grade 3 χ2 tests: LBOTE p=0.6; health conditions p<0.05; parent highest level of education p<0.0001; and Wilcoxon-Mann-Whitney tests: ED visits p<0.0001; hospital admissions p<0.0001; and hospital length of stay p<0.0001.
†Grade 5 χ2 tests: LBOTE p=0.2; health conditions p<0.01; parent highest level of education p<0.0001; and Wilcoxon-Mann-Whitney tests: ED visits p<0.0001; hospital admissions p<0.0001; and hospital length of stay p<0.0001.
‡Grade 7 χ2 tests: LBOTE p=0.1; health conditions p<0.05; parent highest level of education p<0.01; and Wilcoxon-Mann-Whitney tests: ED visits p<0.0001; hospital admissions p<0.0001; and hospital length of stay p<0.0001.
§Grade 9 χ2 tests: LBOTE p=0.6; health conditions p=0.3; parent highest level of education p=0.3; and Wilcoxon-Mann-Whitney tests: ED visits p<0.0001; hospital admissions p<0.0001; and hospital length of stay p<0.0001.
ED, emergency department; LBOTE, Language background other than English.