Epidemiology of childhood injury-related deaths: review of mortality data at the Cape Coast Teaching Hospital

Introduction: globally, about 950,000 children under 18 years die annually from injuries. Injury has the potential to cause prolonged hospitalization, disability or death in children. This study aimed to determine the pattern characteristics and demographic factors associated with childhood (0-16 years) injury deaths reported at the Cape Coast Teaching Hospital in the Central Region of Ghana. Methods: we conducted a retrospective review of records of 795 injury-related deaths in the pathology department of the Cape Coast Teaching Hospital from January 2012 to December 2018. Variables documented included demographic characteristics, date of death, causes injury death, and principal sites of injury. Data entry and analyses were done with Microsoft Excel version 2016. Descriptive statistics such as rates, and frequencies were used to describe data. Results: a total of 140 injury deaths were among children of age 2 months to 16 years, representing 17.6% of all injury-related deaths from 2012 to 2018. Death rates calculated were 12.4 per 100,000(overall) and 1.7 per 100,000 (annual) of children 16 years and below. Most deaths (63.6%) occurred among boys with almost even distribution across three age groups (1-4year (30%), 5-9years (26.4%), and 10-14years (27.9%)). Road traffic injuries (42.9%) and drowning (30%) were the two leading causes of injury deaths. Pedestrian deaths accounted for 75% of the Road Traffic Injuries. Most of the children died from traumatic head injuries (34.3%). Conclusion: there is a significant proportion of injury deaths among children below 16 years, mostly as pedestrian knockdowns and from drowning. We recommend a broad stakeholder consultation to review and draft childhood injury prevention and control guidelines for adoption by the Country.