Many child injuries due to lack of care

COLUMBIA, Mo., April 30 (UPI) -- Although injuries to children may be unintentional, they can be prevented and should not be considered accidents, a University of Missouri professor says.

Patricia Schnitzer of the University of Missouri Sinclair School of Nursing and colleagues says the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention say about 7.1 million injury-related emergency room visits are made by children younger than 15 each year but most result from inadequate supervision or failure to protect children from harm.

"Persistent references to tragic, freak and horrible accidents indicate there is still important work needed to frame unintentional injuries as preventable," Schnitzer says in a statement. "Understanding and addressing social norms about the circumstances for child injuries -- such as safe sleep environments for infants and the use of car seats, helmets and other safety devices -- is important to creating effective prevention strategies."

Efforts should be aimed at improving caregiver skills, but there are no published guidelines for child supervision, beyond recommendations for constant supervision of toddlers and infants.

"What we know is that child injuries can be prevented," Schnitzer says. "The importance of intervention is huge; recognizing at-risk families -- those with low-income or education levels, and young or single parents -- can help providers take proper action.

The findings are published in the journal Injury Prevention.