Deaths of children and young people due to traumatic incidents (NCMD)

The National Child Mortality Database (NCMD) has published its latest thematic report on child deaths related to trauma. Covering vehicle collisions, drownings, violence, maltreatment and unintentional injuries, it is based on data from April 2019 to March 2022.

There were 644 deaths of children and young people due to traumatic events, an overall rate of 17.72 deaths per 1 million children per year. The death rate was highest for children under 5 and for 15-17 year olds, as well as for males. Risk of death also differed according to ethnicity of the child, the level of deprivation where they lived, and the season of the year – though living in urban or rural environments did not appear to affect the overall risk. Other key findings include:

• Death as a result of a vehicle collision was the most common cause of traumatic death for children (5.81 deaths per 1 million children per year)
• The next most common cause was violence and maltreatment (4.40 deaths per 1 million children per year)
• The risk of drowning was estimated at 2.31 deaths per 1 million children per year.

This report contains a number of recommendations for health and care practitioners and policy makers as well as for those from other sectors eg education. These include ensuring that all primary school children receive road safety education, and that children unable to access statutory or private swimming and water safety tuition are given class-based water safety education.

Read the full report: You can read the report by clicking on the link below.

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