SCI Facts

  • More than 10,000 people are living with spinal cord injury in Australia

  • One person a day suffers a spinal cord injury in Australia

  • Most injuries occur in young people, with the highest incidence in males aged 15-24 years

  • With improved emergency management, medical care and rehabilitation, life expectancy after spinal cord injury has improved, leading to increasing prevalence in the future

  • Labour force participation rates are low following spinal cord injury, only 55%*

  • Costs are about $284,000 per ventilator-dependent tetraplegic individual per year **

  • Costs are about $197,000 per non-ventilator-dependent tetraplegic individual per year **

  • The total cost of spinal cord injury in Australia is estimated to be $2 billion annually***

References

 
* Personal communication, Associate Professor Greg Murphy, Latrobe University
 
** Walsh J, Dayton A, Cuff C and Martin P (2005) Long Term Care – Actuarial Analysis on Long-Term Care for the Catastrophically Injured. Sydney: PricewaterhouseCoopers
 
*** The economic cost of spinal cord injury and traumatic brain injury in Australia. Access Economics, 2009.