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This Child Fatality information provided by the Injury & Violence Prevention section of the Office of Disease Prevention & Epidemiology.
1997 Oregon Child Fatality Review Annual Report
Executive Summary
Unintentional Injury
Sudden Unexplained Infant Death
Violence
Recommendations
Preliminary death certificate data indicate that 533 children aged 0-17 died in Oregon in 1997. One in 13 of those deaths was
intentionally caused by child abuse, homicide, or suicide. One in four deaths was unintentionally caused by neglect, unintentional
firearm discharge, motor vehicle crash, fire, drowning, poisoning, suffocation, or fall. Of the 533 child deaths that occurred in
Oregon in 1997, 245 (46%) were determined to be subject of review by the Child Fatality Review (CFR) system. Reviewed cases
include both resident and non-resident fatalities that occurred in Oregon.
Oregon's CFR system was established by state statute in 1989. A State CFR Team and CFR teams in each county were created to
coordinate various agencies and specialists to review child fatalities, to identify trends and issues related to preventable deaths, and
to make recommendations involving statewide and local issues.
According to Oregon Statute 418.747, the local teams are required to review child fatalities where abuse or neglect may have
occurred at any time prior to the death or may have been a factor in the death, any category established by the local team, all
fatalities in which the deceased was under 18 years of age and the medical examiner performed an autopsy, and any specific cases
recommended by the state team. In 1995, the State Technical Assistance Team (STAT) was created to maintain an information
management system for child fatalities, to provide technical assistance to local teams, and to support the State Child Fatality
Review Team.
This is the first report developed by the State Technical Assistance Team that is based on the proceedings of the statewide CFR
process. This report describes the factors that played a role in child fatalities in Oregon over the last 12 months and provides
recommendations from state and local teams on prevention of child fatality.
The leading categories of deaths were fatality due to unintentional injury (n=130), sudden unexplained infant death (n=45), and
violence (n=42). An additional 28 children who died of various causes were also reviewed.
Fatality Due to Unintentional Injury (N=130)
- Unintentional injury fatalities include deaths caused by vehicle crashes, drowning, suffocation, fire, fall, and poisoning.
- Seventy-six children died due to vehicle crashes and pedestrian or bicycle events with motorized vehicles. Half of the
victims were 15-17 years of age.
- Lack of an appropriate restraint was a factor in 32 of the motor vehicle crash fatalities. Alcohol and/or other drug use was a
factor in fourteen cases. Driver error was a factor in 35 of the fatalities.
- There were nine fatal crashes involving pedalcyclists. Four victims were wearing a helmet. Helmet use decreased as age of
the victim increased.
- Seventeen males and seven females died in drowning incidents that occurred in Oregon. No one was wearing a personal
flotation device. In eight cases, lack of appropriate supervision was a factor in the death.
- Residential fires took the lives of ten Oregon children. Seven victims were in homes without a functioning smoke
detectors. In three cases, there was a previous history of fire-starting in the family and children had access to matches or
lighters.
- Eight unintentional firearm injury fatalities occurred in 1997. Seven of the eight were male and all were white. None of the
firearms were stored in a locked location, none had a trigger lock, and in only one case was the firearm stored separately
from the ammunition. In all but one of these incidents, kids were playing with guns.
- Seven unintentional suffocations occurred when a parent rolled onto a sleeping infant. Three additional deaths were
unintentional self-hangings in the 0-4 age group, one in a car seat, another by a mini blind cord, and the third due to bunk
bed design.
Sudden Unexplained Infant Death (N=45)
- These cases represent 35 Sudden Infant Death Syndrome cases and an additional 10 unexplained infant deaths.
- SIDS is the third leading cause of death for Oregon children under age 1, falling behind perinatal conditions and congenital
anomalies.
- African American infants are disproportionately represented in this category of death.
- Maternal smoking during pregnancy occurred in 24 cases. In 18 cases, the child was discovered lying face down on his or
her stomach, in 10 on a side, and in 10 on the back. Ten of the cases were low birth weight.
Death due to Violence (N=42)
- Death due to violence is the use of physical force with the intent to inflict injury or death upon oneself or another.
- Twenty-six of the 42 children who died due to violent causes were killed by firearms.
- Twenty suicide fatalities occurred in Oregon youth 10-17 years of age. Suicide is the second leading cause of death among
Oregon children aged 10-17, with a five-fold increase over the last 35 years. Males used firearms to kill themselves twice
as often as females, and females used strangulation to kill themselves twice as often as males.
- There were five firearm homicides. Two were the result of parental homicide/suicide and two others were the result of
drive-by shootings. Perpetrators ranged in age from 17-43 years. Alcohol and/or other drugs were known to be a factor in
four of the five fatalities.
- Three of the five firearm homicide victims were African American.
- There were three child abuse homicides: one shaken baby syndrome, and two child batterings. All were committed by the
boyfriend of the child's mother.
Recommendations
The recommendations in this report were generated by the county CFR teams and represent local community view-points on how
to best prevent child deaths. With the on-going accumulation of data and knowledge, these recommendations will be shaped into
more specific strategies for child fatality prevention. Policymakers will determine which strategies would be most effective and
how to shape an action plan for implementation.
For Public Policymakers:
- Fund law enforcement agencies at levels that allow more vigorous enforcement of existing laws governing driving under
the influence, seat belt use, bike helmet use, and traffic and boating safety.
- Fund mental health services for children and families.
- Enact legislation to increase safe storage of firearms.
For Oregonians:
- Increase use of safety belts, particularly in the 5-14 age group.
- Encourage pregnant women to stop smoking and teach new parents to put their infants on their back to sleep.
- Closely supervise children in the bathtub, on a lake, in a pool, or on a river.
- Increase community awareness of the symptoms of depression in children and how to obtain assistance.
- Firearm owners keep firearms in a safely locked location separate from ammunition.
- Install and maintain smoke detectors on every floor of the home, including the attic and basement, and store matches and
lighters out of reach of children.
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