Citation

Randall B, Wilson A. S D J Med 1999; 52(11): 423-427.

Copyright

(Copyright © 1999)

DOI

unavailable

PMID

10586647

Abstract

Local, regional, or state infant and child death review teams provide an excellent mechanism for identifying risk factors for infant and childhood deaths along with establishing a conduit for effecting preventive measures to reduce the number of deaths in these particularly vulnerable age groups. In 1997, a predecessor of the current Regional Infant and Child Mortality Review Committee was established in Minnehaha County as South Dakota's first non-Indian review committee for infant and childhood deaths. The 1998 Review Committee's annual report to the public is presented in this paper as an illustration of what can be expected from such a committee along with the specific public health concerns identified and their potential remedies. Especially noted in the committee's 1998 report is an alarming increase in Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) death in the region and the educational role the Back to Sleep Campaign can play in the prevention of SIDS. The annual report serves as an example to illustrate how local review mechanisms can identify community strategies that may promote the health and well being of infants and children in their review areas.

Language: en