America's Children: Key National Indicators of Well-Being, 2007

Child Injury and Mortality

Although fatal injuries have declined over the past two decades, unintentional injuries are the leading cause of death for children ages 1–4 and ages 5–14. In addition, non-fatal injuries continue to be important causes of child morbidity and disability and to substantially reduce quality of life.⁸⁸ For every fatal injury among children ages 1–14, there are 33 hospitalizations and 1,350 emergency department visits for injuries.⁸⁹ The leading causes of injury differ for children and adolescents.

Indicator PHY6.A: Emergency department visit rates for children ages 1–14 by leading causes of injury visits, 2003–2004

• Among children, falls and being struck by or against an object are the two leading causes of injury-related emergency department visits. In 2003–2004, falls accounted for 35 percent of initial injury visits for children ages 1–4. In 2003–2004, there were 49 annual emergency department visits for falls per 1,000 children ages 1–4, whereas the rate for children ages 5–14 was 28 per 1,000.
• Younger children frequently strike furniture after running, tripping, or falling, whereas older children are often struck as a result of play or sports. Emergency department visit rates for being struck by or against an object were similar in both younger (21 emergency department visits per 1,000) and older children (25 emergency department visits per 1,000).
• Emergency department visit rates for natural and environmental causes of injury, poisonings, cuts, and motor vehicle traffic accidents were statistically similar for children ages 1–4, averaging 7–11 visits per 1,000 children.
• Emergency department visit rates for poisoning were higher among younger children (8 per 1,000) than older children (2 per 1,000).
• Overall, 1 to 2 percent of initial injury-related emergency department visits result in hospitalizations. However, 3 to 4 percent of emergency department visits for motor vehicle traffic injuries result in hospitalizations. Among children ages 5–14, 4 percent of emergency department visits for poisoning resulted in hospitalizations in 2003–2004.

Indicator PHY6.B: Death rates among children ages 1–4 and 5–14, by all causes and all injury causes, 1980–2004

• In 2004, the death rate for children ages 1–4 was 30 per 100,000 children and for children ages 5–14 was 17 per 100,000 children. Between 1980 and 2004, the death rate declined by about half for both age groups.
• Among both younger and older children, Black children had the highest death rates in 2004, at 45 per 100,000 children ages 1–4 and 24 per 100,000 children ages 5–14. Asian/Pacific Islander children had the lowest death rates.
• Among children ages 1–4 and 5–14, unintentional injuries (accidents) were the leading cause of death (ages 1–4, 10 deaths per 100,000 children; ages 5–14, 7 per 100,000). For children ages 1–4, this was followed by birth defects (4 per 100,000), cancer (3 per 100,000), and homicide (2 per 100,000 children). Among children ages 5–14, this was followed by cancer (3 per 100,000), and birth defects and homicide (1 per 100,000 children each).
• Among children ages 10–14, suicide was the third leading cause of death (1.3 deaths per 100,000) followed by homicide (1.0 deaths per 100,000).
• Motor vehicle traffic accidents are the most common type of fatal injury among children ages 1–14.

Indicator PHY6.C: Death rates among children ages 1–4 and 5–14, by cause of death, 2004

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