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Childhood deaths and injuries in Finland in 1971-1995
J Parkkari1, P Kannus, S Niemi
1Accident & Trauma Research Centre, UKK Institute for Health Promotion Research, Tampere, Finland.
Insights
Childhood injury deaths in Finland significantly decreased from 1971-1995 due to improved safety measures. However, serious non-fatal injuries remain a concern, requiring ongoing prevention efforts for child safety.
Area of Science:
- Pediatric Injury Epidemiology
- Public Health Trends
- Child Safety Research
Background:
- Examined nationwide trends in fatal and serious non-fatal injuries among Finnish children (0-14 years) between 1971 and 1995.
- Injuries are a leading cause of death in children aged 1-14 years.
Purpose of the Study:
- To analyze temporal trends in childhood injury incidence and outcomes in Finland.
- To identify changes in the types of fatal injuries affecting children.
Main Methods:
- Utilized Official Cause-of-Death Statistics and the National Hospital Discharge Register.
- Included all children aged 0-14 years who died or required hospital treatment for injuries.
- Analyzed data from a population of approximately 1 million children.
Main Results:
- A substantial decrease in fatal injury incidence was observed across all age groups and sexes.
- In 1995, motor vehicle accidents, drownings, and intentional injuries were the primary causes of fatal childhood injuries.
- No clear trend change was noted for serious non-fatal injuries, though hospitalization times decreased.
Conclusions:
- Fatal childhood injuries in Finland have dramatically decreased, likely due to improved traffic safety and trauma care.
- The lack of improvement in serious non-fatal injuries highlights the need for continued, intensive child injury prevention strategies.
Background:
This study examined the recent nationwide trends for the absolute number and the age- and sex-specific incidence rates of the fatal and serious non-fatal injuries among 0-14 year old children in Finland in 1971-1995.
Methods:
We selected from Official Cause-of-Death Statistics and National Hospital Discharge Register children aged 0-14 years who died or required treatment at a hospital department because of an injury in 1971-1995. The number of Finnish children was 1.1 million in 1971, and 1.0 million in 1995.
Results:
During the entire study period injuries were the leading cause of death in children aged 1-14 years, but not in infants. However, in these years the incidence (per 100 000 people) of fatal injuries in Finnish children decreased considerably in all age groups and both sexes, in girls from 20.1 in 1971 to 4.6 in 1995, and in boys from 36.7 in 1971 to 9.3 in 1995. In 1995, 41% of all the injurious deaths among 0-14 year old Finnish children were motor vehicle accidents, 12% were drownings, and 24% intentional injuries. The overall number and incidence of serious non-fatal injuries among Finnish children showed no clear trend change in 1971-1995. The mean hospitalization time of injured children shortened between 1971 and 1995, from 7.4 days to 2.7 days.
Conclusions:
We conclude that the number and incidence of fatal childhood injuries have decreased dramatically in Finland between 1971 and 1995. The reasons for this positive development are multifactorial, but improved traffic safety and trauma care are probably very important. In children's serious non-fatal injuries the development has not been so encouraging and therefore children's injury prevention should receive continuous intense attention.