Rahman Fahmida Saadia, Tannous Wadad Kathy, Agho Kingsley Emwinyore, Avsar Gulay, Harvey Lara Ann
School of Business, Western Sydney University, Parramatta, NSW, 2150, Australia.
School of Health Sciences, Western Sydney University, Penrith, NSW, 2751, Australia.
BMC Health Serv Res. 2025 Mar 11;25(1):363. doi: 10.1186/s12913-025-12527-w.
Fire is a major contributor to global fatalities and disabilities and remains a prevalent threat to individuals in Australia. New South Wales (NSW) experiences over one-third of all structure fires, including residential ones, in the country and one-quarter of all associated deaths and hospital admissions. In an atmosphere of rising healthcare cost and heightened demand for its services, obtaining total cost data for residential fires is essential. The study aims to estimate the cost of health service utilisation, including ambulance, emergency, and hospital admission, resulting from residential fire incidents in NSW, Australia.
This population-based cohort study uses response and health service administration data from 1 January 2005 to 31 December 2014. The data sources are Australian Computer Aided Dispatch system, Fire and Rescue NSW Australian Incident Reporting System, NSW Ambulance datasets, NSW Emergency Department Data Collections, and NSW Admitted Patient Data Collection which are administrative datasets that have been linked. Cost figures were expressed in constant 2023 Australian dollars.
The estimated annual average cost for ambulance use was AU$75 thousand, with the average cost per use of AU$945. The average annual cost for emergency department visits was AU$137 thousand, and the average cost per visit was AU$890. The average total length of stay in hospital was nine days. The average annual cost of episodes of care in hospital was estimated at AU$4 million, with the average cost per episode of care of AU$16,140. The study assessed the total cost for health service use relevant to residential fire incidents and associated injuries at AU$46 million over time, averaging approximately AU$5 million annually.
This study provided, for the first time, total and average costs of health service utilisation per type for ambulance use, ED visits, and hospital admissions associated with residential fire incidents and related injuries using linked administrative data in NSW. Our study will assist the government and stakeholders in making informed decisions that prioritise funding for healthcare service and improve the quality of overall fire safety and public health outcomes.
火灾是导致全球死亡和残疾的主要因素，对澳大利亚民众来说仍然是普遍存在的威胁。新南威尔士州（NSW）发生的各类建筑火灾，包括住宅火灾，占澳大利亚全国此类火灾总数的三分之一以上，火灾造成的死亡和住院人数占全国总数的四分之一。在医疗成本不断上升且对医疗服务需求日益增加的背景下，获取住宅火灾的总成本数据至关重要。本研究旨在估算澳大利亚新南威尔士州住宅火灾事故导致的医疗服务利用成本，包括救护车、急诊和住院费用。
这项基于人群的队列研究使用了2005年1月1日至2014年12月31日的应急响应和医疗服务管理数据。数据来源包括澳大利亚计算机辅助调度系统、新南威尔士州消防与救援局澳大利亚事件报告系统、新南威尔士州救护车数据集、新南威尔士州急诊科数据收集以及新南威尔士州住院患者数据收集，这些均为已关联的行政数据集。成本数据以2023年不变澳元表示。
救护车使用的估计年均成本为7.5万澳元，每次使用的平均成本为945澳元。急诊就诊的年均成本为13.7万澳元，每次就诊的平均成本为890澳元。平均住院总时长为九天。医院护理事件的年均成本估计为400万澳元，每次护理事件的平均成本为16,140澳元。该研究评估了与住宅火灾事故及相关伤害相关的医疗服务使用总成本，随着时间推移总计达4600万澳元，年均约500万澳元。
本研究首次利用新南威尔士州的关联行政数据，提供了与住宅火灾事故及相关伤害有关的救护车使用、急诊就诊和住院治疗等各类医疗服务利用的总成本和平均成本。我们的研究将有助于政府和利益相关者做出明智决策，优先为医疗服务提供资金，并改善整体消防安全和公共卫生结果的质量。
