Title: Unintentional Injuries- A Global Cause of Pediatric Deaths<br/>Author: Jon Mark Hirshon<br/><a href='http://umem.org/profiles/faculty/96/'>[Click to email author]</a><hr/><p>
In 2011, approximately 630,00 children under 15 died from unintentional injuries. Injuries are the leading cause of childhood deaths in children over 9 years old. Ninety-five percent of these childhood injuries occur in lower- and middle-income countries.</p>
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The 2008 World Report on Child Injury Prevention listed the following as the top five causes of pediatric injury deaths globally:</p>
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1) Road Crashes- approximately 260,000/year</p>
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2) Drowning- approximately 175,0000/year</p>
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3) Burns- approximately 96,000/year</p>
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4) Falls- approximately 47,000/year</p>
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5) Poisoning (unintentional)- approximately 45,000/year</p>
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Many of these deaths occur around the home and could be prevented through proven prevention measures, which include:</p>
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· Child appropriate seatbelts and helmets</p>
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· Separate children from vehicular traffic</p>
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· Limit hot tap water temperature</p>
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· Placing medications and potentially harmful household products in child proof containers</p>
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· Draining unnecessary water from baths and buckets</p>
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· Redesigning nursery furniture, toys and playground equipment</p>
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· Strengthening emergency medical services</p>
<fieldset><legend>References</legend>
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<a href="http://www.who.int/violence_injury_prevention/child/injury/en/">http://www.who.int/violence_injury_prevention/child/injury/en/</a></p>
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http://www.who.int/violence_injury_prevention/child/injury/world_report/report/en/</p>
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