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Arizona has reported a 171% increase in child deaths by firearms over the past decade.
A new report from the Arizona Department of Health Services shows that 415 of 853 child deaths in the state last year were preventable.
The top five causes of these preventable deaths were:
- motor vehicle crashes
- firearm injuries
- suffocation
- poisoning
- drowning
Just over 80 kids died in vehicle crashes, and in 32% of those crashes, the driver was under 19 years old. Besides inexperienced drivers, other risk factors for fatal crashes were lack of proper restraints, reckless driving, and substance abuse.
Nearly 70 children were killed by firearm injuries, and this was the most common cause of death for teens ages 15-17.
The state has reported a 171% increase in child firearm deaths over the past decade.
Access to firearms was the biggest risk factor for these deaths, and most of them happened in the home of the child, their friends, or their relatives.
Child deaths by suicide increased by almost 16% from 2022 to 2023, and 44% of child suicides in 2023 were due to firearms. Firearms were used in 40 of last year’s 61 child deaths by homicide.
Fifty-two children died of suffocation, mostly due to unsafe sleep environments for infants. Thirty-four died from poisoning (mostly from fentanyl), and thirty-one died from drowning, mostly occurring in backyard pools and hot tubs.
The Child Fatality Review (CFR) Program, which reviews child deaths each year and works to prevent further deaths, recommended these actions for decreasing the numbers:
- Make sure adolescents are trained and licensed before driving vehicles.
- Make sure proper restraints are used when children are riding in vehicles.
- Remove guns from homes, especially if a child living there experiences mental health or substance abuse problems. If guns are in the home, keep them unloaded and locked in a safe away from ammunition.
- Put babies to sleep alone and on their backs in cribs.
- Keep drugs out of reach of children, and keep naloxone on hand if a loved one experiences opioid addiction.
- Constantly supervise young children around water and place proper enclosures around pools.
READ MORE: COVID-19 winter surge expected to hit marginalized communities hardest, experts warn
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