Parent Awareness of Child Protection Is Important

Abstract

We enjoyed the article, “Pediatric Injury Prevention: Are We There Yet?,”1Valdez AM Pediatric injury prevention: are we there yet?.J Emerg Nurs. 2013; 39: 76-77Abstract Full Text Full Text PDF PubMed Scopus (2) Google Scholar which was about prevention of unintentional injury-related death in children. The author illustrated the highest risk factors of injury-related pediatric death of different ages in American children, and discussed the emergency nurse’s contribution to preventing unintentional pediatric injuries. According to this article, the leading cause of death in infants aged younger than 1 year, 1-4 years, and 5-19 years were suffocation, drowning, and motor vehicle crashes, respectively. Other risk factors included children living in poverty, children with young parents, children living in single mother households, and certain minority populations. In China, the mortality rate of young peoples’ injuries in 2010 was at the same level as that in the United States in 1979 (13.07%).2Ministry of Health, People's Republic of China Report on women and children’s health development in China. 2011http://www.docin.com/p-454460607.htmlGoogle Scholar And the first 5 ranking causes of under-5 mortality are early birth or low birth weight, pneumonia, birth asphyxia, congenital heart disease, and accidental asphyxia, which altogether account for 60.7% of the total deaths.2Ministry of Health, People's Republic of China Report on women and children’s health development in China. 2011http://www.docin.com/p-454460607.htmlGoogle Scholar Among unintentional injuries, traffic accidents were the most frequent cause of death in young people aged 10-24 years.3Patton GC Coffey C Sawyer SM et al.Global patterns of mortality in young people: a systematic analysis of population health data.Lancet. 2009; 374: 881-892Abstract Full Text Full Text PDF PubMed Scopus (771) Google Scholar The article also mentioned that poisoning, attributed to prescription drug use and alcohol poisoning, is another major cause of death among adolescents aged 15-19 years. However, death from poisoning takes up a much lower proportion of total children’s death in China. According to a national report in 2011, due to multiple factors (eg, financial, transport or medical conditions, and health-seeking behavior), 36.3% of the deceased children in China died at home in 2010, and 11.6% didn’t get medical treatment before death.2Ministry of Health, People's Republic of China Report on women and children’s health development in China. 2011http://www.docin.com/p-454460607.htmlGoogle Scholar According to another recent investigation, 55.1% children experienced unintentional injury, whereas only 28% of the parents would regularly check the circumstance flatness for dangerous facilities that might undermine the safety for children's activity.4Chinese Academy of Press and Publication and China Children Publishing House. Chinese children safe self-care report (2013). http://tv.people.com.cn/n/2013/0601/c39805-21699694.html. Accessed June 1, 2013.Google Scholar We believe that parents’ guardianship is the most important and effective means to protect children from injury-related death, which was also a good lesson learned from this article. Thus, it’s highly recommended that parents in China be alert with causes of death such as drowning and suffocation, as well as learn first-aid methods. Also, specific instructions regarding transportation safety can be provided to families. Additionally, emergency doctors and nurses should participate in the propaganda of pediatric injury prevention in the communities in China. With all of the above efforts, we hope to assist increasing the public awareness of pediatric injury and preparing the parents with basic pediatric injury prevention knowledge. Pediatric Injury Prevention: Are We There Yet?Journal of Emergency NursingVol. 39Issue 1PreviewPediatric injury prevention efforts are making a significant difference in the lives of children. In the past 30 years, there has been a substantial decline in unintentional injury–related mortality rates in American children. 1-4 In 1980 there were 8,537 pediatric (aged 1-14 years) deaths as a result of unintentional injury compared with 3,155 in 2009. 2 However, despite ongoing prevention efforts, unintentional injury remains the leading cause of death in children aged 1 to 14 years and the fifth leading cause of death in infants aged under 1 year. Full-Text PDF