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Child Fatalities in Dammam: A Call for Child Fatality Reviews in Arab Countries
Author(s) -
Alsaif Dalia Mohammed,
Almadani Osama M.,
Ali Almoghannam Salah,
Hamdi Dina,
AlFarayedhi Maram A.,
Kharosha Magdy A.
Publication year - 2018
Publication title -
journal of forensic sciences
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.715
H-Index - 96
eISSN - 1556-4029
pISSN - 0022-1198
DOI - 10.1111/1556-4029.13685
Subject(s) - homicide , medicine , cause of death , injury prevention , poison control , autopsy , medical emergency , case fatality rate , suicide prevention , occupational safety and health , child mortality , pediatrics , environmental health , population , disease , pathology
Identifying children's risk exposure is the first step toward mortality prevention. This retrospective study determined the causes of child fatalities in Dammam, Saudi Arabia. Death reports of children and adolescents from 1999 to 2015 ( N = 157) were analyzed. Boys represented most cases (69%) and there were two age peaks (1–5 years and 16–18 years). Accidents (typically immersion) defined the main death circumstance (51%) followed by homicide (25%). Only 33% of cases underwent autopsy, and the most common cause of death was head injury (27%) followed by firearm injury. Only one immersion death underwent autopsy. This study revealed important data about the risk exposure of children in Dammam and emphasizes deficient investigative procedures. Child fatality reviews comprise systematic data collection by multidisciplinary teams to determine the true risks toward children in a community. Such teams do not exist in Arab countries; therefore, strategies should be implemented to initiate them.