Abstract
Hospitalization is an essential part of services provided in healthcare. Understanding the trends in hospital admissions is crucial for improving healthcare outcomes. However, previous research has not analyzed the trends for all causes of hospitalizations in Australia. Therefore, this study aimed to address this gap by examining the trends in all causes of hospitalizations in Australia from 1998 to 2021. This was a descriptive, temporal ecological study using publicly available data extracted from the National Hospital Morbidity Database. Hospitalization data were extracted and analyzed for the duration between 1998 and 2021. Hospitalization data were identified using the International Classification of Diseases-10 (A00–Z99). Over the study period, there were 198,696,847 reported hospital admissions in Australia. The total number of admissions increased by 1.07 times, and the rates rose by 51.5%. Same-day hospital admissions made up most cases. The most common reason for hospital admission was “factors influencing health status and contact with health services.” Females represented more than half of all hospital admissions. In addition, people 65 years and older accounted for 38.6% of hospitalizations. This study shows a rising hospitalization in Australia that could reflects an aging and growing population, changes in disease patterns, technical advancements in medical technology, changes in healthcare policy, and changes in lifestyle trends. Admissions follow different trends by type, age, and gender, indicating that hospitalization needs to be addressed through individualized interventions to reduce hospitalization and improve the outcomes of patients. More studies on the individual-level are required to explore different subtypes of hospital admissions.
Keywords: admission, Australia, emergency, epidemiology, hospitalization
1. Introduction
Hospitalization is a significant healthcare aspect in Australia. According to the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, in 2020/2021, the rate of hospitalizations was 418 per 1000 population (11.5 million hospitalizations) in Australia, which represented a 6.3% increase in hospitalizations number compared to the previous year.[1] Moreover, same-day hospital admissions were increase by 8.1% from 6857,833 in 2019/2020 to 7415,716 in 2020/2021.[1]
In Australia during the 2020/2021 period, hospital admission rates were higher for individuals aged 65 years and above than for younger age groups, indicating a greater likelihood of hospitalization in the older population.[2] The hospital admissions rate per 1000 individuals varied from 997.9 to 1475.5 among older people, while the hospital admissions rates for those aged 0 to 64 ranged from 87.7 to 621.8 per 1000 individuals.[1] Additionally, hospital admissions rates were higher in older men than in older women.[2]
The economic implications of hospitalization are significant for patients and the healthcare system, with public and private hospitals incurring an estimated expenditure of $89.7 billion during 2020/2021.[3] That represents a 4.9% increase from the previous year, exceeding the average annual growth rate of 3.6% for the decade.[3] Research implies that raised out-of-pocket expenses for hospital care can result in economic crises,[4] and aggressive care at the end of life expand the threat of financial problems.[5]
Hospitalizations can often lead to hospital-acquired complications (HACs) and thus can significantly impact patient health and well-being. These complications include surgical complications, medication complications, and others.[6,7] In Australia, it was reported that one or more HACs impacted 112,000 separations in public hospitals and 36,100 separations in private hospitals during 2020/2021.[8] Besides, HACs can have severe effects on patients, including extended hospital stays, increased healthcare costs, and even death.[6–10] Therefore, healthcare providers must focus on strategies that lower the risk of HACs, involving improving infection control measures and managing medication practices.[6]
Looking at trends in hospital admissions is essential for better healthcare outcomes. By reviewing hospital admissions data, providers can identify patient care patterns and create more effective treatment plans and protocols. While earlier studies have examined various aspects of hospitalization, no research has focused on the trends for all causes of hospitalizations in Australia. Hence, this study aimed to fill this gap by looking at the trends in all causes of hospitalizations in Australia from 1998 to 2021.
2. Method
2.1. Study design
This was a descriptive, temporal ecological study using publicly available data in Australia for the duration between 1998 and 2021.
2.2. Data sources
This was a descriptive, temporal ecological study using publicly available data extracted from the National Hospitals Data Collection includes the National Hospital Morbidity Database. Hospitalization data were extracted and analyzed for the duration between 1998 and 2021. Hospitalization data were identified using the International Classification of Diseases-10 (A00–Z99). The Australian Bureau of Statistics and the national, state, and territorial populations were used to extract mid-year population data during the study period.[11,12]
2.3. Study population
The study population comprised of all patients hospitalized in public and private hospitals during the study period without any restriction on patients’ age or gender.
2.4. Data structure
The National Minimum Data Set covers episodes of care for patients in private and public psychiatric and acute hospitals. Publicly available data include information on the patient’s diagnoses and demographics. Patients’ data presented stratified based on 4 age groups: under 15 years, between 15 years and 59 years, between 60 years and 74 years, and above 75 years.
3. Statistical analysis
Frequency and percentage were employed to represent categorical data. The mid-year population was divided by the concluded consultant episodes to calculate hospitalization rates with 95% confidence intervals. The variation in hospital admission rates between 1998 and 2021 was estimated using the Pearson χ2 test for independence. Statistical significance was defined as a 2-sided value of P < .05. SPSS V.29 (IBM Corp, Armonk) was employed to conduct all analyses.
4. Results
4.1. Overall hospitalization rate
Between 1998 and 2021, there were a total of 198,696,847 reported hospital admission episodes in Australia. The annual number of hospital admission for various reasons increased by 1.07-fold during this period, rising from 5722,420 in 1998 to 11,837,649 in 2021, expressing a 51.5% increase in hospital admission rates (from 30,418.56 [95% CI 30,397.77–30,439.35] in 1998 to 46,082.27 [95% CI 46,062.99–46,101.54] in 2021 per 100,000 persons, trend test, P < .05).
Same-day hospital-admitted patients accounted for 57.5% of all admissions, while 42.5% were overnight-stay patients. The rate of same-day hospital admissions increased by 96.2% (from 14,572.39 [95% CI 14,556.44–14,588.33] in 1998 to 28,597.03 [95% CI 28,579.56–28,614.51] in 2021 per 100,000 persons). Meanwhile, the rate of overnight-stay hospital admissions increased by 7.8% (from 15,846.17 [95% CI 15,829.67–15,862.68] in 1998 to 17,088.28 [95% CI 17,073.72–17,102.84] in 2021 per 100,000 persons) (Fig. 1).
Figure 1.
Rates of same-day and overnight-stay hospital admission in Australia between 1998 and 2021.
“Factors influencing health status and contact with health services” were the most common cause of hospital admission, accounting for 24.4% of all hospital admission. “Diseases of the digestive system” ranked second at 10.4%, followed by “symptoms, signs and abnormal clinical and laboratory findings, not elsewhere classified” ranked third at 7.1% (Table 1).
Table 1.
Percentage of hospital admission from the total number of admissions per ICD code.
| ICD code | Description | % from total number of admissions |
|---|---|---|
| “Z00–Z99” | “Factors influencing health status and contact with health services” | 24.4 |
| “K00–K93” | “Diseases of the digestive system” | 10.4 |
| “R00–R99” | “Symptoms, signs and abnormal clinical and laboratory findings, not elsewhere classified” | 7.1 |
| “S00–T98” | “Injury, poisoning and certain other consequences of external causes” | 6.8 |
| “C00–D48” | “Neoplasms” | 6.6 |
| “M00–M99” | “Diseases of the musculoskeletal system and connective tissue” | 5.9 |
| “I00–I99” | “Diseases of the circulatory system” | 5.8 |
| “O00–O99” | “Pregnancy, childbirth and the puerperium” | 5.5 |
| “N00–N99” | “Diseases of the genitourinary system” | 4.8 |
| “J00–J99” | “Diseases of the respiratory system” | 4.5 |
| “F00–F99” | “Mental and behavioral disorders” | 4.1 |
| “H00–H59” | “Diseases of the eye and adnexa” | 3.4 |
| “G00–G99” | “Diseases of the nervous system” | 2.6 |
| “E00–E89” | “Endocrine, nutritional and metabolic diseases” | 1.7 |
| “L00–L99” | “Diseases of the skin and subcutaneous tissue” | 1.7 |
| “A00–B99” | “Certain infectious and parasitic diseases” | 1.5 |
| “D50–D89” | “Diseases of the blood and blood-forming organs and certain disorders involving the immune mechanism” | 1.4 |
| “H60–H95” | “Diseases of the ear and mastoid process” | 0.7 |
| “P00–P96” | “Certain conditions originating in the perinatal period” | 0.7 |
| “Q00–Q99” | “Congenital malformations, deformations and chromosomal abnormalities” | 0.4 |
ICD = International Statistical Classification of Diseases system.
4.2. Hospitalization profile by indication
Hospital admission rates for diverse medical conditions changed significantly during the study time. There was a considerable increase in hospital admission rates for “endocrine, nutritional and metabolic diseases,” “symptoms, signs and abnormal clinical and laboratory findings, not elsewhere classified,” “diseases of the eye and adnexa, diseases of the blood and blood-forming organs and certain disorders involving the immune mechanism,” “diseases of the nervous system,” “factors influencing health status and contact with health services,” “diseases of the musculoskeletal system and connective tissue,” “mental and behavioral disorders,” “injury, poisoning and certain other consequences of external causes,” “certain infectious and parasitic diseases,” “neoplasms,” “diseases of the digestive system,” “diseases of the skin and subcutaneous tissue,” “diseases of the genitourinary system,” “certain conditions originating in the perinatal period,” and “diseases of the circulatory system.” The rates increased by 187.1%, 149.9%, 120.3%, 109.8%, 102.2%, 94.4%, 89.9%, 55.8%, 51.9%, 38.2%, 36.1%, 26.4%, 26.0%, 8.9%, 8.7%, and 3.3%, respectively. However, there was a decrease in hospital admission rates for “pregnancy, childbirth and the puerperium,” “congenital malformations, deformations and chromosomal abnormalities,” “diseases of the respiratory system,” and “diseases of the ear and mastoid process.” The rates decreased by 7.7%, 13.7%, 15.4%, and 18.9%, respectively (Table 2, Fig. 2).
Table 2.
Percentage change in the hospital admission rates from 1998 to 2021 in Australia.
| Disorders | Rate of disorders in 1998 per 100,000 persons (95% CI) | Rate of disorders in 2021 per 100,000 persons (95% CI) | % change from 1998 to 2021 |
|---|---|---|---|
| “Certain infectious and parasitic diseases” | 471.73 (468.63–474.83) |
652.09 (648.98–655.20) |
38.2 |
| “Neoplasms” | 2114.13 (2107.63–2120.63) |
2878.37 (2871.91–2884.84) |
36.1 |
| “Diseases of the blood and blood-forming organs and certain disorders involving the immune mechanism” | 380.24 (377.45–383.02) |
797.83 (794.38–801.27) |
109.8 |
| “Endocrine, nutritional and metabolic diseases” | 315.88 (313.35–318.42) |
906.99 (903.33–910.66) |
187.1 |
| “Mental and behavioral disorders” | 1270.92 (1265.85–1275.98) |
1980.28 (1974.89–1985.66) |
55.8 |
| “Diseases of the nervous system” | 650.36 (646.73–654.00) |
1314.96 (1310.55–1319.37) |
102.2 |
| “Diseases of the eye and adnexa” | 852.32 (848.16–856.47) |
1877.37 (1872.12–1882.62) |
120.3 |
| “Diseases of the ear and mastoid process” | 306.59 (304.09–309.09) |
248.71 (246.79–250.64) |
−18.9 |
| “Diseases of the circulatory system” | 2262.00 (2255.28–2268.72) |
2336.56 (2330.72–2342.40) |
3.3 |
| “Diseases of the respiratory system” | 1766.45 (1760.50–1772.41) |
1493.70 (1489.01–1498.39) |
−15.4 |
| “Diseases of the digestive system” | 3621.32 (3612.88–3629.76) |
4575.92 (4567.84–4584.00) |
26.4 |
| “Diseases of the skin and subcutaneous tissue” | 545.39 (542.06–548.72) |
687.16 (683.96–690.35) |
26.0 |
| “Diseases of the musculoskeletal system and connective tissue” | 1707.02 (1701.17–1712.87) |
3240.80 (3233.95–3247.64) |
89.9 |
| “Diseases of the genitourinary system” | 1917.96 (1911.76–1924.15) |
2089.05 (2083.52–2094.58) |
8.9 |
| “Pregnancy, childbirth and the puerperium” | 2297.21 (2290.44–2303.98) |
2120.68 (2115.11–2126.25) |
−7.7 |
| “Certain conditions originating in the perinatal period” | 254.88 (252.60–257.16) |
277.12 (275.08–279.15) |
8.7 |
| “Congenital malformations, deformations and chromosomal abnormalities” | 181.85 (179.93–183.78) |
157.00 (155.47–158.53) |
−13.7 |
| “Symptoms, signs and abnormal clinical and laboratory findings, not elsewhere classified” | 1608.31 (1602.62–1613.99) |
4019.26 (4011.67–4026.86) |
149.9 |
| “Injury, poisoning and certain other consequences of external causes” | 2156.94 (2150.38–2163.51) |
3275.45 (3268.56–3282.33) |
51.9 |
| “Factors influencing health status and contact with health services” | 5737.05 (5726.54–5747.56) |
11,152.98 (11,140.81–11,165.16) |
94.4 |
Figure 2.
Rates of hospital admission in Australia stratified by type between 1998 and 2021.
4.3. Hospitalization profile by gender
Females accounted for more than half of all hospital admission episodes in Australia (52.8%), with a total of 104,410,539 hospital admission episodes recorded during the study period. On average, this equated to 4539,588.7 female hospital admissions per year. Hospital admission rates among males increased by 55.2% (from 28,203.14 [95% CI 28,174.28–28,232.00] in 1998 to 43,767.98 [95% CI 43,740.74–43,795.21] in 2021 per 100,000 persons). Similarly, hospital admission rates among females increased by 45.9% (from 32,602.43 [95% CI 32,572.58–32,632.29] in 1998 to 47,565.70 [95% CI 47,538.49–47,592.92] in 2021 per 100,000 persons) (Fig. 3).
Figure 3.
Total hospital admission rates in Australia stratified by gender between 1998 and 2021.
4.4. Hospitalization profile by age
Concerning age group differences in hospital admission, the age group 65 years and over accounted for 38.6% of the total number of hospital admission, followed by the age group 40 to 64 years with 32.9%, the age group 20 to 39 years with 19.1%, and then below 20 years with 9.4%. Rates of hospital admission aged below 20 years increased by 0.2% (from 14,149.46 [95% CI 14,119.57–14,179.35] in 1998 to 14,179.91 [95% CI 14,152.52–14,207.31] in 2021 per 100,000 persons). Rates of hospital admission aged 20-39 years increased by 17.8% (from 24,560.62 [95% CI 24,525.12–24,596.11] in 1998 to 28,924.62 [95% CI 28,891.53–28,957.72] in 2021 per 100,000 persons). Rates of hospital admission aged 40 to 64 years increased by 49.0% (from 31,758.81 [95% CI 31,720.31–31,797.30] in 1998 to 47,335.41 [95% CI 47,300.66–47,370.15] in 2021 per 100,000 persons). Rates of hospital admission aged 65 years and over increased by 48.9% (from 78,027.25 [95% CI 77,918.15–78,136.36] in 1998 to 116,176.05 [95% CI 116,080.42–116,271.67] in 2021 per 100,000 persons) (Fig. 4).
Figure 4.
Total hospital admission rates in Australia stratified by age group between 1998 and 2021.
4.5. Trends in types of hospital admission rates by gender
Hospital admission rates for “certain infectious and parasitic diseases,” “diseases of the blood and blood-forming organs and certain disorders involving the immune mechanism,” “endocrine, nutritional and metabolic diseases,” “mental and behavioral disorders,” “diseases of the eye and adnexa,” “diseases of the digestive system,” “diseases of the musculoskeletal system and connective tissue,” “diseases of the genitourinary system,” “pregnancy, childbirth and the puerperium,” and “symptoms, signs and abnormal clinical and laboratory findings, not elsewhere classified” were more common in females (Fig. 5). On the other hand, hospital admission rates for “neoplasms,” “diseases of the nervous system,” “diseases of the ear and mastoid process,” “diseases of the circulatory system,” “diseases of the respiratory system,” “diseases of the skin and subcutaneous tissue,” “certain conditions originating in the perinatal period,” “congenital malformations, deformations and chromosomal abnormalities,” “injury, poisoning and certain other consequences of external causes,” and “factors influencing health status and contact with health services” were more common in males (Fig. 5).
Figure 5.
Rates of hospital admission in Australia stratified by gender between 1998 and 2021.
4.6. Trends in types of hospital admission rates by age
The bulk types of hospital admission rates were more prevalent in the age group 65 years and over. That include the following: “certain infectious and parasitic diseases,” “neoplasms,” “diseases of the blood and blood-forming organs and certain disorders involving the immune mechanism,” “endocrine, nutritional and metabolic diseases,” “diseases of the nervous system,” “diseases of the eye and adnexa,” “diseases of the circulatory system,” “diseases of the respiratory system,” “diseases of the digestive system,” “diseases of the skin and subcutaneous tissue,” “diseases of the musculoskeletal system and connective tissue,” “diseases of the genitourinary system,” “symptoms, signs and abnormal clinical and laboratory findings, not elsewhere classified,” “injury, poisoning and certain other consequences of external causes,” and “factors influencing health status and contact with health services.” Still, hospital admission rates for “diseases of the ear and mastoid process,” “certain conditions originating in the perinatal period,” and “congenital malformations, deformations and chromosomal abnormalities” were more common in the age group below 20 years. Hospital admission rates for “mental and behavioral disorders” and “pregnancy, childbirth and the puerperium” were higher in the age group from 20 to 39 years (Fig. 6). For further details on patients’ hospitalization profile stratified by age, gender, and indication refer to Figure S1, Figure S2, Figure S3, and Figure S4, Supplemental Digital Content, https://links.lww.com/MD/Q473.
Figure 6.
Rates of hospital admission in Australia stratified by age group between 1998 and 2021.
5. Discussion
This study analyzed the trends in hospital admissions in Australia over the years 1998 to 2021. The results revealed a remarkable increase of 1.07-fold in hospital admissions, and hospital admission rates increased by about 52.0% during the study period. These results are consistent with findings reported in previous studies that have highlighted a rising hospital admissions trend in Australia and other developed countries.[1,13] These rises in hospital admissions may be caused by various factors, such as an aging population,[2,14] an increase in the population,[14] changes in disease prevalence,[15] improvement in medical technology,[16] and a shift in healthcare delivery and policy.[17,18]
The current study found that most hospitalization episodes were same-day admissions (57.5%). Additionally, rates for same-day and overnight-stay admissions were increased by 96.2% and 7.8%, respectively. These findings could reflect shifts in healthcare delivery, with a growing focus on day procedures[19] and ambulatory care.[20] Accordingly, these may aid in reducing expenditures, alleviating pressure on hospital beds, and improving patient outcomes.[19,20] However, overnight-stay admissions will continue to be required, as many cases and procedures mandate more than one admissions day.
Another finding is that the most prevalent reason for hospitalization in Australia was “factors influencing health status and contact with health services,” accounting for 24.4% of total hospitalizations. This finding is consistent with previous studies that have recognized that the most common reason for hospitalizations among individuals aged below 5 years and individuals aged 45 years and over is other factors influencing health status.[8] Besides, other factors influencing health status refer to a broad category of hospital admissions. The most common among them is dialysis which accounted for 14% of all hospital admissions in Australia during 2020/2021 and is the leading cause of hospitalizations in Australia.[21] However, there are differences in hospitalization trends between countries. For example, infectious diseases were the most common reason for hospital admissions in the United States from 2005 to 2018.[22] In England and Wales, digestive diseases led the list for admissions from 1999 to 2019.[13] These differences in admission trends between countries may arise from variations in population demographics[23–25] and healthcare systems.[25]
Over the study period, hospitalization rates for multiple medical conditions in Australia have significantly increased, with a remarkable rise in hospital admission rates for “endocrine, nutritional and metabolic diseases,” which increased by 187.1%. This increase could be due to the rising prevalence of obesity, overweight, and diabetes in the Australian population, as well as changes in lifestyle and dietary habits.[14,26] Similarly, hospital admission rates for “mental and behavioral disorders” showed a significant increase of 51.9%. This increase may reflect applying the “national stigma and discrimination reduction strategy” in Australia,[27,28] which may have contributed to increasing awareness of mental health conditions and the associated stigma reduction in seeking mental health services.[27,29]
Consistent with our study, hospital admissions rates for “symptoms, signs and abnormal clinical and laboratory findings, not elsewhere classified,”[13] “diseases of the eye and adnexa,”[13,30] “diseases of the blood and blood-forming organs and certain disorders involving the immune mechanism,”[13,31] “diseases of the nervous system,”[13,32] “diseases of the musculoskeletal system and connective tissue,”[13,33] “mental and behavioral disorders,”[13,34] “injury, poisoning and certain other consequences of external causes,”[13] “certain infectious and parasitic diseases,”[13,35] “neoplasms,”[13,36] “diseases of the digestive system,”[13] “diseases of the skin and subcutaneous tissue,”[13,37] “diseases of the genitourinary system,”[13] “certain conditions originating in the perinatal period,”[13,38] and “diseases of the circulatory system”[13] increased in England and Wales between 1999 and 2019. This increase in hospital admissions rates may be due to the aging population[2,14] and lifestyle changes[14] that lead to a growth in chronic diseases.[39]
Hospital admissions related to “pregnancy, childbirth and the puerperium” decreased during this study duration; this could be attributed to advancements in prenatal care and childbirth practices,[40,41] which could reduce the incidence of high-risk pregnancies and childbirth complications. An alternative explanation for our result is the growth in utilizing midwifery-led care over the past decades.[42,43]
The decline in hospital admission rates for “congenital malformations, deformations and chromosomal abnormalities,” “diseases of the respiratory system,” and “diseases of the ear and mastoid process” are promising trends. These trends may be linked to public health efforts and medical progress in handling these conditions.[17,44–46] They may also be partly due to the impact of COVID-19, which caused a 2.8% decrease in hospital admissions in Australia during 2019/2020.[14]
This study indicates that females made up more than half of all hospital admissions in Australia, at 52.8%. This finding is consistent with prior studies that have reported higher hospital admission rates among females than males; in Australia in 2017/2018[47] and England and Wales between 1999 and 2019.[13] Several factors could contribute to this gap. These include the impact of social factors on health, differences in the prevalence of disorders, and variations in how people seek healthcare.[48–50]
In addition, our study revealed that hospital admission rates increased for both males and females. Nonetheless, hospital admission rates for males rose more than for females. This may be because men are more likely to take part in risky health behaviors, such as smoking, working in dangerous jobs, and drinking alcohol.[48,51] In line with this, earlier studies in 2017/2018 show that men and women in Australia faced difficulties with their health behaviors. However, a more considerable percentage of men were overweight or obese than women.[52,53] Besides, vegetable and fruit intake were low for both genders; men had a significantly low consumption rate, with less than one in 30 consuming the recommended daily amount, compared to less than one in 10 women. Finally, men were more likely to exceed the guideline for single-occasion risk drinking than women, with over half of Australian men exceeding the guideline compared to one in 3 women.[52,53] Thus, gender-specific healthcare interventions are needed to reduce hospitalization rates and improve healthcare outcomes for both males and females.
The results of this study reveal that hospital admission rates varied across different age groups. People aged 65 and older represented the largest percentage of hospital admissions at 38.6%. Furthermore, hospital admission rates increased for all age groups. The highest increases were seen in the 40 to 64 age group at 49.0% and those aged 65 and over at 48.9%. A possible explanation for this might be the aging of the Australian population,[2] as about 4.2 million or 16% of the total population in Australia were aged 65 or over,[12] with a predicted increase in this number.[11] Another possible explanation for this is the higher prevalence of comorbidities and chronic conditions such as cardiovascular diseases, respiratory diseases, and diabetes among older individuals.[44,54,55] Therefore, targeted health interventions must focus on older individuals. On the other hands, hospital admission rates for individuals under 20 years old stayed relatively stable from 1998 to 2021. There was a small increase of 0.2% in admission rates for this age group during the study period. This suggests that preventive measures, such as health education and vaccination programs, have successfully decreased the need for hospital admissions in this population.[17,56–59]
Our study found significant differences in hospital admissions between the sexes. For example, females showed higher rates of hospital admissions related to “certain infectious and parasitic diseases,” “endocrine, nutritional and metabolic diseases,” and “mental and behavioral disorders,” among others. In contrast, males showed higher admissions related to “neoplasms,” “diseases of the nervous system,” and “diseases of the circulatory system,” among others. Consistent with these, prior research reported differences in the prevalence and admissions of various conditions by sex.[1,60]
Another important finding is that there were hospitalization disparities between age groups, as the elderly population had higher rates in most admissions categories. However, hospital admission rates for “diseases of the ear and mastoid process,” “certain conditions originating in the perinatal period,” and “congenital malformations, deformations and chromosomal abnormalities” were more frequent in the age group below 20 years. “Mental and behavioral disorders” and “pregnancy, childbirth and the puerperium”-related hospital admission rates were more common in the age group from 20 to 39 years. These are in line with the fact that the prevalence of health conditions varies between age groups.[1,60] Hence, policymakers and healthcare providers are mandated to develop targeted treatment and prevention strategies for different age groups.
To reduce hospitalizations burden, it is recommended that the population, especially older adults and men, adopt and maintain healthy lifestyle habits. Healthcare providers play a key role in this effort by promoting and supporting these initiatives. More research is needed to investigate the reasons for these trends and to explore the patterns in different subtypes of hospital admissions.
6. Conclusion
This study underlines a significant increase in hospital admissions in Australia, which reflects an aging population, a growing population, changes in disease patterns, better medical technology, shifts in healthcare delivery and policy, and changes in lifestyle among individuals. Moreover, trends in hospital admissions vary based on the type of admission, categories, patient age, and gender. Thus, there is a need for healthcare interventions and treatment and prevention strategies that focus on specific age and gender groups to lower hospitalization rates and improve patient outcomes. Finally, more research is needed to explore different subtypes of hospital admissions.
Author contributions
Conceptualization: Abdallah Y. Naser.
Data curation: Abdallah Y. Naser.
Formal analysis: Abdallah Y. Naser.
Funding acquisition: Hassan Alwafi.
Investigation: Abdallah Y. Naser, Hassan Alwafi.
Methodology: Abdallah Y. Naser.
Project administration: Abdallah Y. Naser.
Resources: Abdallah Y. Naser, Hassan Alwafi.
Software: Abdallah Y. Naser.
Supervision: Abdallah Y. Naser.
Validation: Abdallah Y. Naser.
Visualization: Abdallah Y. Naser.
Writing—original draft: Abdallah Y. Naser, Hassan Alwafi.
Writing—review & editing: Abdallah Y. Naser, Hassan Alwafi.
Supplementary Material
Abbreviations:
- HAC
- hospital-acquired complications.
This study was based on publicly available data and did not involve any new studies of human or animal subjects performed by any of the authors and therefore, considered exempt from human protection oversight. This study was conducted in accordance with the World Medical Association (WMA) Declaration of Helsinki.
The authors have no funding and conflicts of interest to disclose.
The datasets generated during and/or analyzed during the current study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.
Supplemental Digital Content is available for this article.
How to cite this article: Naser AY, Alwafi H. Australia’s hospitalization landscape over 20 years: Insights from a longitudinal ecological study. Medicine 2025;104:44(e45494).
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