Mortality due to unintentional injuries in the population aged 0-14 years, Ecuador 2009-2024
Injuries, mortality, children, Ecuador
AuthorsAbstractUnintentional injuries pose a major challenge to child public health worldwide. Annually, approximately 950,000 children die from these causes, with traffic accidents, drownings, poisonings, burns, and falls being the most significant mechanisms. This study aims to describe the trends and epidemiological characteristics of mortality due to unintentional injuries in the population aged 0 to 14 years in Ecuador during the period 2009–2024. It is a retrospective, descriptive-longitudinal study based on official general death records from INEC. Crude and truncated mortality rates per 100,000 inhabitants were calculated. Temporal trends and the Average Annual Percent Change (AAPC) were analyzed using joinpoint regression models. A total of 4,854 deaths were analyzed. 60.65% were male. A significant reduction in mortality was observed across all subgroups (p < 0.05). However, the decline was notably faster in the school-age group of 5 to 14 years (AAPC for males: −5.9%; females: −5.2%) compared to the preschool group of 0 to 4 years (AAPC for males: -1.3%; females: −1.6%). Drowning was the leading cause of external death (31.7% in males, 20.5% in females). Despite the sustained decrease in mortality from unintentional injuries in Ecuador, there remains a concerning stagnation in prevention among early childhood (0 to 4 years) and a persistent gender gap that disadvantages boys. It is urgent to design public policies specifically aimed at preventing drownings and protecting young children in domestic environments.
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