The purpose of this study was to analyze the characteristics of elderly motorcycle accidents according to data from elderly inpatients to prepare prevention measures for the elderly against injury in motorcycle accidents.
Chi-squared test, independent sample t-test, and canonical correlation analysis were performed on the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency's National Hospital Discharge In-depth Injury Survey data from 2015 to 2019, from which the records of 1,384 elderly inpatients hospitalized because of motorcycle accidents were obtained.
First, a general analysis of this group's characteristics showed that 49.3% were middle-aged, and 50.7% were elderly. The proportion of males was higher in both groups, and the places of residence and hospital locations were more often in the non-metropolitan areas than in metropolitan areas.
Second, hospitalization through the emergency room was the most common medical use in both groups, and occurred most frequently in summer. Hospitalization occurred more frequently on Fridays for the elderly group, and on Mondays for the middle-aged group.
Third, intracranial injury(S06) was the most common care and treatment characteristic for both age groups. The most frequent injury site was the head and neck, and the most frequent injury type was a fracture. Most of the motorcycle accidents happened on a road or a highway, and most injuries occurred while the patients were in motion. The top 10 characteristics of the main surgical categories from this sample showed that reduction of dislocations and fractures and musculoskeletal system operations were the most common types of surgical intervention.
Fourth, 90% of both the middle-aged and elderly groups improved with either a complete or light recovery. A higher number of middle-aged patients were discharged and returned home than the elderly patients, and more elderly patients were either transferred to a different hospital or died relative to the middle-aged group.
The above findings show that prevention education and policy formulation at the national level are necessary to identify and manage the factors of elderly motorcycle accidents. This study provides basic data for developing measures and policies to prevent and reduce injuries, making it significant for public health causes.