S.D. worst in child mortality
Posted: Tuesday, August 07, 2007
SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (AP) -- The annual Kids Count report ranked South Dakota last among the states in child mortality, with 39 deaths per 100,000 children in 2004.
The national rate for children ages 1-14 was 20 deaths per 100,000 children.
Most child deaths in South Dakota and nationwide result from car-related accidents, said study co-author Laura Beavers, a research associate for the Kids Count project and the report's co-author.
"Because child deaths and teen deaths are driven by accidents, there's a pretty direct connection between making kids safer in cars and whether the child death rate is high," Beavers said.
From 2000 to 2004, the national child death rate fell by 9 percent. In South Dakota, it rose 11 percent.
"There's definitely been a pretty dramatic decline in the child death rate across the country, and a lot of that has been connected to the use of seat belts for kids and other types of restraints," Beavers said. "It's that other states are improving where South Dakota is not."
The report uses statistics compiled by the state and federal government to track the well-being of children.
State health secretary Doneen Hollingsworth said the report does reflect a problem.
"The majority of children's deaths unfortunately are accidental, and many of them could be prevented," Hollingsworth said.
South Dakota's rural environment, where teens begin driving younger than other states, could be one reason why the child death rate is higher, said Dr. Brad Randall, the Minnehaha County coroner.
"We're a state with lots of wide open roads, and I suspect that our seat belt use percentage is pretty minimal, too," he said.
"We're a fiercely independent state that doesn't like anyone telling us what to do, and we're paying for it with a high child and infant mortality rate." said Randall, who leads the Regional Infant and Child Mortality Review Committee, created in 1997 to identify and examine causes of death among children in a 10-county area.
The Kids Count report comes from the nonprofit Annie E. Casey Foundation.
The national rate for children ages 1-14 was 20 deaths per 100,000 children.
Most child deaths in South Dakota and nationwide result from car-related accidents, said study co-author Laura Beavers, a research associate for the Kids Count project and the report's co-author.
"Because child deaths and teen deaths are driven by accidents, there's a pretty direct connection between making kids safer in cars and whether the child death rate is high," Beavers said.
From 2000 to 2004, the national child death rate fell by 9 percent. In South Dakota, it rose 11 percent.
"There's definitely been a pretty dramatic decline in the child death rate across the country, and a lot of that has been connected to the use of seat belts for kids and other types of restraints," Beavers said. "It's that other states are improving where South Dakota is not."
The report uses statistics compiled by the state and federal government to track the well-being of children.
State health secretary Doneen Hollingsworth said the report does reflect a problem.
"The majority of children's deaths unfortunately are accidental, and many of them could be prevented," Hollingsworth said.
South Dakota's rural environment, where teens begin driving younger than other states, could be one reason why the child death rate is higher, said Dr. Brad Randall, the Minnehaha County coroner.
"We're a state with lots of wide open roads, and I suspect that our seat belt use percentage is pretty minimal, too," he said.
"We're a fiercely independent state that doesn't like anyone telling us what to do, and we're paying for it with a high child and infant mortality rate." said Randall, who leads the Regional Infant and Child Mortality Review Committee, created in 1997 to identify and examine causes of death among children in a 10-county area.
The Kids Count report comes from the nonprofit Annie E. Casey Foundation.
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