65% of Child Death Cases in Contra Costa Were Preventable, Report Says

Most Children's Deaths in Contra Costa Reviewed by Expert Team could have been prevented

​​According to the recently released Contra Costa County Child Death Report, most deaths of children in Contra Costa between the years of 2008-2012 could have been prevented by safe sleeping practices, more active adult supervision and other interventions.

The report was prepared by the Child Death Review Team, a multidisciplinary group that includes representatives from multiple County agencies including health services, law enforcement, social services, probation, crisis, and EMS. The team examined 155 coroner’s cases over a five-year period involving children under age 18. Coroner cases are classified as accidents, homicides, suicides, natural or undetermined.

"...100 of those 155 deaths did not need to happen,"

Dr. Jim Carpenter, M.D., MPH

The Child Death Report did not examine natural deaths where a child had been under medical care for disease, cancer or other known health conditions. The coroner’s cases reviewed in the report represent about one-third of all child deaths in the county during the study period.

The report concluded that 65% of the deaths reviewed were likely preventable. “To put it another way, 100 of those 155 deaths did not need to happen,” said Dr. Jim Carpenter, a child abuse pediatrician who serves as the team’s chair.

According to the report, a disproportionate share of the deaths reviewed involved infants before their first birthdays. Of the 49 studied infant deaths, 73% were classified as sleep-related fatalities in which the babies died from causes such as Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) or accidental overlay. All but two were in unsafe sleep environments.

Dr. Carpenter said most sleep-related infant deaths can be prevented by safe sleeping practices, including sleeping on the back and avoidance of bed-sharing.  The Child Death Review Team recommended that medical staff at hospitals and clinics should model and educate parents of newborns about safe-sleeping practices.

The report identified other preventable tragedies including nine fatal drownings, two deaths from fires and two children left alone in hot cars. Those deaths could have been prevented by more active supervision, the report concluded. The Child Death Review Team also determined that nearly all 20 fatal motor-vehicle accidents reviewed, most involving unsafe driving by teens, to be preventable.

Adolescent deaths from homicide and suicide were also studied. Homicides involving firearms were present in 90% of cases, and 87% of cases involved people of color. Suicides were often impulsive acts precipitated by emotional stress and strife at home or school. Prevention of these deaths is multimodal.

The release of this report coincides with SIDS Awareness Month and the findings coincide with the opinions of child death review teams across the nation. Prevention of many of these deaths must start with education and awareness of the various risks associated with childhood injuries leading to death. The solutions to these tragedies are everyone’s responsibility including teens, parents, the public, social services agencies, government and society at large.

To read the entire report, visit the hosted website at capc-coco.org under About, Proclamations & Community Reports and click on PDF link to read and download

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Tags: CAPC, child abuse prevention, child abuse prevention council, child death review, contra costa, Dr. Jim Carpenter, prevent child abuse, SIDS