CYP Now - Hundreds of child deaths linked to deprivation 'avoidable', report shows

Children from deprived families are more likely to die before they reach adulthood than their more affluent peers, a study has found.

Deprived areas present higher risks of child mortality, research shows. Picture: Adobe Stock

Research by the National Child Mortality Database (NCMD), based on data for children who died between April 2019 and March 2020 in England, found a clear association between the risk of child death and the level of deprivation for all categories of death except cancer.

The report found that more than 20 per cent of all child deaths might be avoided if children living in the most deprived areas had the same mortality risk as those living in the least deprived – which translates to over 700 fewer children dying per year in England.

Resarchers found that the most common age at death was less than one year (63 per cent) and more boys than girls died (56.5 per cent compared with 43.5 per cent), while the majority of children who died lived in urban areas (87.8 per cent).

Register Now to Continue Reading

Thank you for visiting Children & Young People Now and making use of our archive of more than 60,000 expert features, topics hubs, case studies and policy updates. Why not register today and enjoy the following great benefits:

What's Included