For example, the infant mortality rate for Black infants was 14 per 1,000 live births in 2021, while for white infants the rate was four per 1,000 live births. The leading causes of death for children in Arizona last year were (in order):īlack and Native American children died at disproportionate ratesĪs in prior years, Black and Native American or Alaska Native children died at rates disproportionate to their population size in 2021. The Child Fatality Review Program investigates and reports on the death of all children who die in Arizona regardless of state residency. Numerous reports and studies have indicated that use of drugs and alcohol increased during the pandemic due to, among other things, stress and isolation.

Rimsza noted that substance use played a role in more than half of the child deaths from abuse or neglect in 2021, a factor that in some cases may have been related to COVID-19.

'Some of it isn't intentional neglect, it's neglect through a lack of money for a place to live, for childcare, so they have unsafe childcare situations. And so I think we need to consider, what are the situations where neglect occurs,' Rimsza said. The mortality rate of Arizona children due to abuse or neglect rose by 36.2% from 5.8 deaths per 100,000 children in 2020 to 7.9 deaths per 100,000 children in 2021, which is the highest rate in the past 10 years. There were 128 Arizona children who died from abuse or neglect in 2021, up from 95 such deaths in 2020. 'It's very tragic how it can happen so quickly in situations where people have a backyard pool.' It's been going down in that category for many years and now it went back up again. 'We were very surprised to see how many drownings we had. Child drownings doubled from 22 deaths in 2020 to 44 deaths in 2021, and drowning was the most common cause of death in children ages one through four years old, the report says. Nearly half of last year's deaths were preventable, according to authors of the report, who base their analysis on reviews of death certificates, autopsy reports, hospital records, law enforcement reports, and any other relevant documents that provide insight into the cause of a child's death.Īrizona child death rates from drowning and abuse or neglect 'increased drastically' from 2020, says the report, which was released earlier this month.

Mary Ellen Rimsza, chair of the Arizona Child Fatality State Team.Ī total of 863 children died in Arizona last year, up from 838 the prior year. We like to look at trends for what is happening, and hopefully this isn't a trend,' said pediatrician Dr. Arizona’s child mortality rate increased by 4.7% from 51 deaths per 100,000 children in 2020 to 53.4 deaths per 100,000 children in 2021. The rate of Arizona children ages newborn through 17 who died in 2021 reached its highest level in 10 years, the Arizona Child Fatality Review Program's 29th annual report says. A 'drastic' increase in drownings and fatalities due to neglect contributed to an overall increase in child deaths in Arizona last year, a new state report says.

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