More than 6,600 children die and more than 14 million are injured seriously enough to require medical attention each year. That is a staggering one out of four . Our first-ever report on the national trends in unintentional childhood death and injury tracks a decade of work in prevention. It presents a detailed picture of the particular risks that kill and disable more children than disease, homicide or suicide. This report also maps out a strategy for the 21st century and issues specific calls to action across injury areas.
Injury prevention is an effective and affordable solution to keeping kids safe.
The Bad News Injury prevention is not a national priority. Funding for injury prevention remains scarce. A major obstacle to prevention has always been the underestimation of risk. Motor vehicle crashes remain the leading cause of unintentional injury-related death among children 14 and under. Injury rates for certain sports are rising.