Washington Week: Student Voices (O)

Study: No. 1 killer of kids is unintentional injury
By Steffanie Wynn
The Daily Universe (BYU)
05/15/2007

(U-WIRE) PROVO, Utah — Unintentional injury is the No. 1 cause of death among children under 14, according to a study by Safe Kids Worldwide.

Safe Kids Worldwide is a nonprofit organization dedicated to changing attitudes, behaviors and laws to prevent accidental injury to children.

In the United States, more than 2,000 children die each summer from preventable injuries.

Drowning, biking accidents, falls, motor vehicle and pedestrian accidents are the top five risk areas that cause unintentional injury and death among U.S. children.

Nationally, drowning causes the most accidental deaths among children, but in Utah, pedestrian-related accidents come out on top, said Kevin Condra, media and education coordinator for the Violence and Injury Prevention Program under the Utah Department of Health.

"Pedestrian safety is one area we really need to work on in Utah," Condra said.

Safe Kids Utah, a chapter of Safe Kids Worldwide, is working to implement programs and raise awareness about keeping kids safe, said Janet Brooks, co-coordinator of Safe Kids Utah and child advocacy manager at Primary Children's Medical Center.

"It's frightening the number of children we've seen in the last six years die in their driveways," Brooks said. "We have had 47 deaths and over 600 injuries."

Kids Safe Utah began a program called Spot-the-Tot as a way to help parents implement a measure of safety before they back out of their driveway. Drivers first walk around their vehicle and then make sure everyone is accounted for before they start the car, Brooks said.

Local law enforcement and health departments have also teamed up to host car seat safety checkpoints around the state where parents can come to make sure kids are properly restrained in their car and booster seats.

Both Condra and Brooks agree that raising awareness about keeping kids safe is their main goal.

"The population as a whole has not recognized that accidental injury is a major problem," Brooks said. "They don't realize that it is the leading cause of death."

Supervision is the key factor in all of the most common injury areas, Brooks said.

"We can put fences around our pools, bike helmets on kids, and make sure they are in their car seats, but it's when supervision and enforcement aren't there that we see the most problems," Brooks said.

Stephanie Bingham, an Orem, Utah, resident and mother of four young children, said she realizes the necessity of making sure her children are being supervised at all times.

"I have rules with my children to keep them safe," Bingham said. "Yes, they always wear helmets, and they don't run around in the street, but they also know that whenever they want to play, mommy or daddy needs to be watching them."

Utah was ranked 39th nationwide by Safe Kids Worldwide based on data surrounding unintentional injury deaths from the Center for Disease Control.

"We still have a lot of improving to do, but we have seen a reduction in accidental injury deaths in the last few years," Condra said.

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