Accidental Death Rate for Children Falls
Cox News Service
Friday, May 09, 2008
WASHINGTON — The accidental injury death rate for American children ages 14 and under has dropped by 45 percent in the past 20 years, safety advocates told a Senate committee Thursday.
"We're not used to good news around here," admitted Sen. Edward Kennedy, D-Mass., chairman of the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee.
 RICK MCKAY/Cox Newspapers Ileana Arias, of Atlanta, director of the National Center for Injury Prevention and Control, talks about Child safety at a Senate hearing Thursday, May 1, 2008, on 'Keeping America's Children Safe: Preventing Childhood Injury.'  RICK MCKAY/Cox Newspapers Seen. Johnny Isakson, R-Ga., right, listens to the testimony of Justin Bruns during a Senate hearing Thursday, May 1, 2008, on 'Keeping America's Children Safe: Preventing Childhood Injury.' Bruns was knocked unconscious and hospitalized for three days while snowboarding in Colorado, but was wearing a helmet at the time which reduced the severity of his injury.  RICK MCKAY/Cox Newspapers Amber Williams, of Atlanta, left, executive director of State and Territorial Injury Prevention Directors, takes part in a Senate hearing Thursday, May 1, 2008, on 'Keeping America's Children Safe: Preventing Childhood Injury.' From left: Williams, Justin Bruns, who was knocked unconscious and hospitalized while snowboarding in Colorado, but was wearing a helmet at the time which reduced the severity of his injury, Meri-K Appy, president of the Home Safety Council, and Alan Korn, director of public policy at Safe Kids USA International.  RICK MCKAY/Cox Newspapers Amber Williams, of Atlanta, executive director of State and Territorial Injury Prevention Directors, testifies about Child safety at a Senate hearing Thursday, May 1, 2008, on 'Keeping America's Children Safe: Preventing Childhood Injury.' |
"We know what works" to keep children safe from injury, testified Ileana Arias, director of the National Center for Injury Prevention and Control, an agency of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta.
The remaining problem is spreading the information and making sure the measures are implemented, she explained.
For despite the gains, unintentional or accidental injuries remain the leading cause of death for young Americans, with the exception of congenital anomalies for children below the age of 1, Arias and other witnesses told the committee.
Motor vehicle and traffic related deaths are the leading cause of fatal injuries for children, followed by drowning and fires, said Arias.
The committee heard a report by Safe Kids USA, an advocacy group for child safety, that showed that the fatality rate from accidental injury for American kids ages 14 and younger had declined from 15.4 per 100,000 in 1987 to 8.5 per 100,000 in 2005.
The South has the highest rate — 10 per 100,000 in 2005. The Northeast has the lowest: 4.6 per 100,000 in 2005.
The experts stressed that too many children still die in accidents — 5,162 ages 14 or below in 2005.
Witnesses said life-saving remedies are readily available: age-appropriate safety seats and restraints for children in cars, safety helmets for kids on bicycles, skateboards, snow boards and other such devices, smoke detectors and alarms in homes, swimming lessons and boating life jackets.
The remaining challenge is to get parents to implement the safety measures for their children.
During 2005, 1,451 children ages 14 or younger died as occupants in motor vehicle crashes, Arias testified. "Nearly half were unrestrained."
"We know that placing children in age- and size-appropriate restraint systems reduces serious and fatal injuries by more than half," she said.
Georgia is among the states working on these issues, said Amber Williams, executive director of the State and Territorial Injury Directors Association, which is based in Atlanta.
"The Georgia State Injury and Violence Prevention Program has been able to document at least 56 lives potentially saved through a child safety seat distribution program and unique partnership with Emergency Medical Services," she said. The program has provided car seats to low-income families in 109 of Georgia's 159 counties, she said.
More accidents can be prevented if the "science-based interventions" are disseminated, said Arias.
Sen. Johnny Isakson, R-Ga., urged that schools be used to get out the word. He recalled when his son brought home an ash tray that he had made in school — with the words "Don't Smoke" in the bottom.