Unintentional injuries are a leading cause of deaths for children of all ages. Globally, they accounted for 15.4% of 2.6 million deaths recorded among children aged 1 to 14 years in 2013. The 12 highest burden countries in the world by absolute death count and mortality are low- and middle-income countries (LMIC) except for Russia and Equatorial Guinea. These countries accounted for 58% of the 406,442 unintentional injury deaths among 1 to 14 year olds in 2013. Globalization drives inequalities in the distribution of economic gains, risks, and opportunities for preventing child unintentional injuries between high-income countries and LMIC.
Key points
- •
Unintentional injuries are a major global health problem resulting in high morbidity and mortality among children of all ages.
- •
The burden of preventable childhood unintentional injuries is disproportionately borne by low- and middle-income countries (LMIC).
- •
Drowning and road transport injuries account for most unintentional injuries deaths for children.
- •
Globalization creates inequalities in the distribution of economic gains, risks, and opportunities for preventing child unintentional injuries between high-income countries and LMIC.
- •
Key strategies for injury prevention in LMIC in a globalized economy include advocacy, extending complex international laws that protect free market to ensure and enforce safety standards, improved surveillance, human resource capacity building, and further research on evidence-based interventions.
- •
Pediatricians should include unintentional injury prevention counseling as part of routine anticipatory guidance for infants, children, and adolescents.
Stay updated, free articles. Join our Telegram channel
Full access? Get Clinical Tree
