Academic Journal
Emergency department burden of e-scooter injuries in Victoria, Australia: A statewide analysis of injury patterns and prevention implications, 2022-2025.
| Τίτλος: | Emergency department burden of e-scooter injuries in Victoria, Australia: A statewide analysis of injury patterns and prevention implications, 2022-2025. |
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| Συγγραφείς: | Sharwood LN; School of Population Health, Faculty of Medicine and Health, University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia; Faculty of Engineering and Information Technology, University of Technology Sydney, Sydney, Australia. Electronic address: l.sharwood@unsw.edu.au., Hayman J; Victorian Injury Surveillance Unit, Monash University Accident Research Centre, Monash University, Melbourne, Australia., Rezaei-Darzi E; Victorian Injury Surveillance Unit, Monash University Accident Research Centre, Monash University, Melbourne, Australia., Laska C; Bouvé College of Health Sciences, Northeastern University, Boston, USA., Eager D; Faculty of Engineering and Information Technology, University of Technology Sydney, Sydney, Australia., Martiniuk A; Sydney School of Public Health, Faculty of Medicine and Health, The University of Sydney, Sydney, Australia; International Centre for Future Health Systems, University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia. |
| Πηγή: | Injury [Injury] 2026 Sep; Vol. 57 (9), pp. 113446. Date of Electronic Publication: 2026 Jun 15. |
| Τύπος έκδοσης: | Journal Article |
| Γλώσσα: | English |
| Στοιχεία περιοδικού: | Publisher: Elsevier Country of Publication: Netherlands NLM ID: 0226040 Publication Model: Print-Electronic Cited Medium: Internet ISSN: 1879-0267 (Electronic) Linking ISSN: 00201383 NLM ISO Abbreviation: Injury Subsets: MEDLINE |
| Imprint Name(s): | Publication: <2002->: Amsterdam : Elsevier Original Publication: Bristol, Wright. |
| Ιατρικοί όροι (MeSH): | Emergency Service, Hospital*/statistics & numerical data , Accidents, Traffic*/statistics & numerical data , Accidents, Traffic*/prevention & control , Wounds and Injuries*/epidemiology , Wounds and Injuries*/prevention & control , Motorcycles*, Victoria/epidemiology ; Emergency Room Visits/statistics & numerical data ; Pedestrians/statistics & numerical data ; Humans ; Male ; Retrospective Studies ; Female ; Adolescent ; Adult ; Child ; Child, Preschool ; Middle Aged ; Infant ; Young Adult |
| Περίληψη: | Background: E-scooter use has expanded rapidly in Australia alongside evolving legislation and changes in e-scooter availability. However, the population-level impact on injury burden and emergency care services remains incompletely characterised, particularly in the absence of standardised external cause coding for e-scooter injuries. Methods: We conducted a retrospective statewide analysis of emergency department (ED) presentations for e-scooter-related injuries in Victoria, Australia, using the Victorian Emergency Minimum Dataset (VEMD). Cases from January 2022 to December 2025 were identified using predefined text-search terms applied to narrative fields, with manual validation. Descriptive analyses examined temporal trends, demographic characteristics, injury patterns, health service use, and seasonal variation. Temporal patterns were interpreted in the context of evolving e-scooter legislation and shared-hire programme changes. Results: A total of 4694 e-scooter-related ED presentations were identified, including 79 pedestrians struck by an e-scooter. Annual presentations increased from 825 in 2022 to 1,373 in 2024 and remained high in 2025 (1358). Riders were predominantly male (71.4%) with a mean age of 31.1 years; however, 15.4% of presentations involved children aged 2-14 years. Falls accounted for 74.1% of injuries, and 67.2% occurred on roads, streets, or highways. Fractures and head-region injuries were common. Overall, 38.0% of patients were admitted to hospital, around one-third arrived by ambulance, and the majority were triaged as urgent or emergency. Presentations demonstrated consistent seasonal peaks during warmer months. Injury volumes increased during a period of expanding e-scooter availability and remained elevated despite subsequent changes to shared-hire programmes. Conclusions: E-scooter-related injuries represent a substantial and sustained burden on emergency departments in Victoria, Australia. The high proportion of admissions, ambulance arrivals, and serious injury types underscores the impact on acute care services. The increasing burden of injuries among children and the predominance of on-road incidents highlight gaps in regulation and enforcement. These findings also demonstrate limitations in injury surveillance, including the absence of standardised coding for emerging modes of transport. Strengthening injury surveillance systems alongside targeted regulatory, infrastructure, and behavioural interventions is critical to reduce harm as micromobility use continues to evolve. (Copyright © 2026 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.) |
| Competing Interests: | Declaration of Competing Interest The authors declare no conflicts of interest. |
| Contributed Indexing: | Keywords: E-scooter; Emergency department; Fractures; Head injury; Injury surveillance; Micromobility |
| Entry Date(s): | Date Created: 20260616 Date Completed: 20260807 Latest Revision: 20260807 |
| Update Code: | 20260808 |
| DOI: | 10.1016/j.injury.2026.113446 |
| PMID: | 42303472 |
| Βάση Δεδομένων: | MEDLINE |
| ISSN: | 1879-0267 |
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| DOI: | 10.1016/j.injury.2026.113446 |