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410 Paper 2 Nate
410 Paper 2 Nate
Nathan Eppich
NURSE – 410
This paper will go over the leading causes of death in each age group. These age
groups will include infancy, toddler, preschool age, school age, and adolescents. It will also
cover the actions that can be taken to help prevent these tragic deaths from occurring.
Infancy
Infancy includes children from newborn to one year of age. Losing a child during
many families throughout the United States. Data collected in 2016 shows that the infant
mortality rate was 5.9 deaths per 1,000 live births with more than 23,000 infants dying per
year (Infant mortality, 2017). The leading causes of death in infants are birth defects,
preterm birth, pregnancy complications, sudden infant death syndrome, and accidents. Of
the causes mentioned above, birth defects is the number one leading cause of death in
infancy. In 2015, birth defects affected one in every 33 babies and accounted for about
one-fifth of all infant deaths. The CDC is trying to confront this problem through a public
health approach. This approach will combine three important elements; disease tracking,
research to identify causes, and a prevention research programs (Infant mortality, 2017).
By implementing these three essential approaches, it will allow for every child in the
Toddler
This age group includes those from the ages of one to three years old. Toddlers are
at a time in their lives where exploring and learning are a big part of their everyday life.
This can lead to too much curiosity and potentially death. The leading cause of death in this
age group from most common to least common is accidents (unintentional), congenital
LEADING CAUSES OF DEATH IN CHILDREN 3
anomalies, and homicide. Unintentional accidents include auto accidents, drowning, fires,
falling, and poisoning (Death among children and adolescents, 2018). The main focus of
this section is on automobile accidents since they are the leading cause of death.
Preventing these deaths can be done through proper car seat set up. Following a few
simple rules can ensure that the toddler is properly secure. First, it is important to place
the car seat into one of the back seats of the car and not in the passenger seat. Second, is to
be sure the seat belt is not too tight, this can be done by placing two fingers between the
belt and the child’s chest. Lastly, it is important to make sure the car seat is rear facing.
Abiding to these three simple rules can insure that the toddler is better protected from any
Preschool
Preschool age group includes children from the age of three to five years old. Just
like the previous age, this group of children can become very curious which may result in
harm. The three main causes of death for this age are unintentional injury (auto accidents),
congenital anomalies, and malignant neoplasms. Unintentional injury is the number one
cause of death (Perry et al., 2018). Unintentional injury can very from getting in a car
accident or actually getting hit by a car while playing in the street. No matter the cause, it is
important for parents and nurses to emphasize the importance of safety at this age (Perry
et al., 2018). Parents can begin to stress the importance of safety measures like not playing
in the street and wearing a helmet while riding bikes. Nurses can provide safety measures
by emphasizing three extremely important aspects of car safety to parents. Those three
aspects are effective car restraint system, locking mechanism, and proper seating in the car
(Perry et al., 2018). These deaths can be caused either by carefree behavior regarding car
LEADING CAUSES OF DEATH IN CHILDREN 4
safety or by collisions. Since parents of these toddlers don’t know when a crash could
potentially occur, it is critical that children are always put into a car seat no matter the
distance of the drive. If parents of these children don’t know the proper way of strapping
in their child, they can go down to the local police department and be instructed on the
correct way.
School Age
School age children include those from the ages of six to 12 years old. The most
common cause of death in this age group is motor vehicle death (pedestrian or passenger),
suicide, and malignant neoplasms (Perry et al., 2018). The sections of this paper will not
only focus on the leading cause of death in this age group (vehicle accidents), but also the
second leading cause of death (suicide). This time of life is when this age group starts to be
confronted with bullies, depression, physical body changes, school phobia, and different
emotions. For this reason, children start to feel unwanted and experience thoughts of
death and suicide. Death in this age group is thought of in a very different way then most
other stages of children (Salek & Ginsburg, 2104). It is seen as something that can’t happen
to them or their family members, but only to the elderly. Sometimes they can’t
comprehend how death will affect them so it causes them to feel anxious. This type of
thought process is what causes this age group to be intrigued with death and could be part
of the reason why suicide is the second leading cause of death. This group of children is
also confronted with harmful situation like motor vehicles accidents, drowning, burns, and
bodily damage. There are a few things that are mentioned in the Maternal Child Nursing
Care book that can help decrease the number of unwanted vehicle accidents (Perry et al.,
2018). These include educating children on proper use of seatbelts, reminding parents and
LEADING CAUSES OF DEATH IN CHILDREN 5
children that no one should be riding in the back of a pickup truck and lastly emphasizing
Adolescence
The age range of adolescence is defined as children ranging from 13 to 20 year olds.
This age group has similar leading causes of death as the school aged group. The top three
causes include accidents, suicide, and homicide with accidents being the number one cause
for this group. In 2015, there were 235,845 teens in the United States ages 16 to 19 treated
in the emergency department for car accidents. Of those 235,845 teens, 2,333 did not
survive (Teen Drivers, 2018). Teens are at higher risk then older adults because they
underestimate dangerous situations or do not recognize hazardous situation. They are also
much more likely to make decisions that put others in harms way while driving.
Suicide in this age group is very prevalent and shouldn’t be taken lightly.
Adolescences go through a lot of emotional changes which makes them more vulnerable to
suicide thoughts. These thoughts should be taken seriously and assessed to see the
severity. Results from the 2013 Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance shows that 8% of
students nationwide have attempted suicide during the 12-month survey (Perry et al.,
2018). These states varied on average between 5.5% to 14.3%. Parents of these children
can help confront these situations through medical personal. They can help provide
anticipatory guidance by helping the parents form a positive communication that helps the
teens feel connected with their loved ones. Family and friends also need to be aware of the
teen’s mood swings and notify health care providers during times of depression, suicidal
talk, and impulsive behavior so they can help prevent suicide from occurring.
LEADING CAUSES OF DEATH IN CHILDREN 6
References
Centers for Disease. (2018, October 19). Teen drivers: Get the facts. Retrieved October 30,
2018, from
https://www.cdc.gov/motorvehiclesafety/teen_drivers/teendrivers_factsheet.html
Centers for Disease. (2017, September 11). Infant mortality: What is CDC doing. Retrieved
https://www.cdc.gov/reproductivehealth/maternalinfanthealth/infantmortality-
cdcdoing.htm
Centers for Disease. (2015, December 23). Childhood injury report. Retrieved October
Medline Plus. (2018, October 2018). Death among children and adolescents. Retrieved
Perry, S. E., & Crum, K. A. (2014). Virtual clinical excursions, obstetrics-pediatrics, for Perry,
Hockenberry, Lowdermilk, and Wilson, Maternal child nursing care, 5th edition.
Salek, E. C., & Ginsburg, K. R. (2014). How children understand death & what you should
https://owl.purdue.edu/owl/research_and_citation/apa_style/apa_formatting_and_
style_guide/reference_list_electronic_sources.html