Summary
This report critically reviews:
- definitions of acquired brain injury (ABI);
- existing estimates of incidence of ABI and prevalence of disability attributable to ABI in Australia and overseas; and
- data sources and approaches to estimating incidence and prevalence.
Newly derived estimates of rates of hospitalisation associated with ABI (treated as indicative of incidence rates) and the prevalence of disability attributable to ABI in Australia are also presented. ‘Incidence’ is the number of new cases of a condition diagnosed or reported during a specified time period (usually one year). ‘Prevalence’ is the total number of cases of a condition within a population at a given point in time. This report is the third in a series looking at the definition and prevalence of different disability groups in Australia.
Preliminary material: (93KB PDF) List of tables; List of figures; Summary (28KB PDF) ; Acknowledgements; Abbreviations
Introduction (44KB PDF)
ABI - an overview
ABI as a disability group
Defining acquired brain injury (64KB PDF)
Definitions used in policy, legislative and administrative contexts
Definitions used in studies of ABI incidence
Definitions used in disability prevalence studies
Measures of severity and outcome
Review of existing estimates (90KB PDF)
Incidence
Proportion of incident cases leading to long-term disability
Prevalence
Non-traumatic ABI
Summary of estimates reviewed
AIHW estimates of ABI in Australia (137KB PDF)
Approaches to estimating ABI incidence and prevalence
Estimates from the National Hospitality Morbidity Database 1996 - 97
Prevalence estimates from the 1993 ABS disability survey
Discussion
Conclusion
Appendixes (43KB PDF)
Appendix 1: Table of terms
Appendix 2: Calculation of confidence intervals for estimates
Appendix 3: 1993 ABS disability survey questions on limitations, restrictions and need for assistance
Appendix 4: Additional data tables
End matter: References (24KB PDF)