The study found that local child death overview panels (CDOPs), which investigate the circumstances surrounding all child deaths in their area, are hampered in preventing child deaths because there is no straightforward way of spotting national trends.
The report, by the National Perinatal Epidemiology Unit at the University of Oxford, found it took "extensive effort" and "prolonged time" for the panels to identify further deaths from similar causes in other areas and thereby spot potential trends.
This delays any opportunities to see patterns in the causes of deaths, meaning preventative action is not taken.
"As a number of interviewees commented, the absence of national data to enable examination of individual causes of deaths means it is simply not possible to identify the difference between a one-off cause and an emerging trend other than to resort to contacting other CDOP co-ordinators through the informal email network," the report states.
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