Substance use by parents and caregivers, and firearms in the home, are among the most significant risk factors for children in Arizona, where 337 children died of preventable causes in 2017.
Marijuana was the drug most commonly found in these cases, according to data in a newly released state report that included in-depth analysis of which drugs were being used by adults at the time of a child’s death.
The annual Arizona Child Fatality Review, now in its 25th year, found marijuana — whether being used alone or in combination with other substances — was being used in 46 percent of the cases, or 62 deaths, in which substance use was a factor.
“I think it’s important for people to not think marijuana use is safe when you are responsible for a child,” said Dr. Mary Ellen Rimsza, who oversees the review program. “Anything that impairs a parent could lead to a child’s death.”
Alcohol was next for the most common drug found, was a factor in 32 percent of the cases involving substance use and was considered a factor in 43 deaths.
The other drugs listed included methamphetamine, linked to 32 deaths, and opiates, linked to 24 deaths.
Last year’s report on the 2016 preventable child deaths did not track substances as closely. Findings that year included marijuana as a factor in 30 percent of the deaths, alcohol in 25 percent and opiates in 10 percent. Methamphetamine was found in 12 percent of those deaths.
Gun deaths
Suicides and firearm deaths increased from 2016 to 2017, with 42 percent of the suicide deaths and 44 percent of the homicide deaths due to gun-related injuries.
Deaths from firearms have increased steadily over the last six years, Rimsza said.
Firearm-related injuries resulted in the deaths of 43 Arizona children in 2017, with 63 percent of those deaths occurring in the child’s home and 51 percent involving guns owned by a parent.
Infant deaths
Sudden unexpected infant deaths due to suffocation and unsafe sleep environments increased and accounted for 24 percent of all preventable child deaths in 2017.
Other findings include:
- Suicides increased 32 percent, from 38 in 2016 to 50 in 2017, and accounted for 6 percent of all child deaths.
- Drowning accounted for 35 child deaths, a 30 percent increase from the 27 deaths in 2016.
- Ten percent of all child deaths were due to maltreatment, a 2 percent decrease from 2016.
- Of the 79 children who died of abuse or neglect, 56 percent were from families who had prior involvement with the Arizona Department of Child Safety. Substance use was a factor in 65 percent of those deaths.
The mission of the Child Fatality Review Program is to reduce preventable child fatalities by reviewing the deaths and implementing more prevention education and data-driven recommendations for legislation and public policy.
The recommendations in the report included the following:
- Always have infants sleep alone, on their back and in a crib to prevent sleep suffocation. “Too many new parents are not aware of the issues and it’s a hard thing for them to remember every single time when they have this young infant who is tiring them out,” Rimsza said.
- Remove firearms from homes if anyone living there shows signs of mental illness, depression, substance abuse or talk of suicide.
- Never leave a young child alone around bodies of water, including the bathtub.
- Encourage all parents and caregivers to learn infant and child CPR.
