One of Australia's largest rural health services is pleading with state and federal governments to create prevention strategies for regional communities that could save more than $1 billion in health funding.

The Royal Flying Doctor Service (RFDS) has released statistics showing the rate of injury and death in remote Australia outweighs metropolitan and larger regional neighbours.

RFDS general manager for health services, central operations John Woodall said the way rural and regional people approached safety could be changed.

"If you look at what has been done in terms of prevention, we've done a lot to reduce the rates of death and disability through something like chronic disease," Dr Woodall said.

"And there's evidence to suggest that the same kind of energy and effort, if it's directed toward prevention of injuries, can also be effective."

Dr Woodall said the report was also mindful of visitors to regional areas forming part of the amount of people injured each year, mainly through car accidents on remote highways across the country.

He said the RFDS was a service covering these areas, and he was mindful these statistics were not just representative of country people.

At a glance, the RFDS research suggests a widening gap for injuries and death in:

Road fatalities: Although more than two-thirds of Australia's population live in major cities, more than half of road fatalities occur on rural and remote roads Workplace injury: Fatality rates for agricultural workers are nine times higher than any other industry Poisoning: Death rates from poisoning are 3.5 times higher in remote areas compared to major cities Assault deaths: Australians in remote areas are 3.8 times more likely to die from an injury caused by assault than in major cities Young people: Children from very remote areas are 2.2 times more likely to be hospitalised for an injury than children in cities and one in three child hospitalisations are for avoidable injury. Injury claims more children's lives each year than cancer and nervous system illnesses combined Indigenous people: Indigenous people in remote and very remote areas are twice as likely as Indigenous people in major cities to be hospitalised for an injury

More males injuring themselves

One pattern that is emerging is the higher amount of males injuring themselves.

"Males are about two-thirds of injuries in rural and remote Australia," Dr Goodall said.

One in five of the aeromedical evacuations the RFDS attends each year is in response to an accident or injury. ( Supplied: Royal Flying Doctor Service )

The trend also suggests a high rate of younger people injuring themselves each year.

"The pattern shows a higher rate of people younger than 50, [and] 10- to 24-year-olds are the higher incidence of injuries," he said.

Safety advocates have provided reassurance that prevention strategies work.

Maree Gooch, project director for Farmsafe Western Australia Alliance, said first aid training on properties was vital to helping reduce death and injury in rural communities.

"Many people on farms are first aid trained," Ms Gooch said, but added more could be done to increase the awareness of early response during emergency situations.

"We possibly are further from hospitals than our city counterparts, and we have to be self-sufficient; the injuries are more challenging to deal with.

"Sometimes we might take a shortcut [and think] 'I'll be OK, it won't happen to me'."

Simple farm work can be dangerous

Ms Gooch has lived on rural properties throughout Western Australia and is more than aware of the dangers of farm life.

She came close to losing her 18-month-old child when he went missing from their house on a farming property.

"We found him playing in a tractor with redbacks [spiders] everywhere," she said.

With a higher rate of workplace injury than any other industry, Ms Gooch said simple farm work could be dangerous if not properly managed.

"[Grain] augers have been started by an operator and another person has been injured nearby, which is why guarding is so important," Ms Gooch said.

The RFDS attends one in five aeromedical evacuations every year in response to accidents and injury.

RFDS chief executive Martin Laverty said the prevention of more accidents in these communities would have better outcomes for all Australians.

"Accidents can be prevented [and] prevention saves lives. Prevention also saves taxpayer dollars," Mr Laverty said.

"Governments need to adopt a new accident and injury prevention strategy to save both lives and avoidable hospital costs."