South Dakota accidental childhood deaths, 2000-2007: what can we do?

Introduction: Unintentional injuries are the leading cause of death in children around the world and are an under-recognized public health problem in the United States.

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to highlight the nature of the problem in South Dakota and outline interventions that have been successful in reducing childhood injuries in other states.

Methods: This quantitative retrospective study examined mortality files in South Dakota for children birth to 19 years of age who died between January 1, 2000 to December 28, 2007.

Results: Although the number of deaths declined considerably from 2006 to 2007, South Dakota had the second-highest rate in the nation of childhood unintentional injury deaths from all causes between 2000-2005. The majority of deaths occurred in males and were associated with transportation-related deaths. Suffocation was the leading cause of death for newborns to age 1 year.

Conclusion: Childhood accidental death in South Dakota is clearly a critical public health problem. Intervention efforts to reduce deaths from unintentional injuries amongst children should be targeted as the leading causes of accidental death for specific age groups and American Indian youth. Physicians, health educators and policymakers must play a role in prevention targeting the high-risk groups in addition to advocating for policy changes to protect childhood safety. More stringent child restraint laws, graduated driving laws, smoking cessation programs for parents, creation of safer sleep environments and further investigation of why a high proportion of American Indian children die accidentally in South Dakota are all warranted.