Media Release 23 September 2008
Mortality rates for children and young people improving
Mortality rates for children and young people have declined considerably over the last 20 years, an independent advisory
committee said in a report tabled in Parliament today.
The Child and Youth Mortality Review Committee’s Fourth Report to the Minister of Health covered deaths of children and
young people from January 2002 to December 2005.
“This report intends to give a fuller picture of child and youth mortality in New Zealand and help us understand the
complex issues relating to these deaths,” said Professor Barry Taylor, former Chair of the Committee.
Established in 2002, the Committee collects information on all mortality occurring between four weeks and 25 years of
age, to determine trends and patterns and to review the circumstances of mortality to seek preventable factors. It then
makes recommendations to the Minister of Health on ways to reduce mortality. The committee is supported by a large
number of advisors and a network of local groups.
The overall trends for child and youth mortality rates are improving. However, international comparison suggests that
New Zealand is behind many other OECD (Organisation for Co-operation and Economic Development) countries, and ethnic
disparities remain a concern.
“Many deaths are preventable. The prevention of deaths requires work across the whole community, far beyond the health
sector,” says Nick Baker, current Chair of the Committee.
Improvements in mortality review systems and processes over the last few years will contribute to reducing preventable
deaths. As more information is collected it will provide direction for action and enable monitoring of that action over
time.
Some of the issues the Report highlights include the:-
§ improving child and youth mortality rates § need for every baby to have a safe place to sleep § importance of
developing youth health services and interagency collaboration to create supportive environments for young people §
value of bringing information together at a local and a national level to understand the factors that contribute to
child and youth mortality.
The Committee has worked with the Ministry of Health to ensure that professionals have access to up to date and relevant
information and messages to help parents and the community understand the need for safe sleeping places, safe sleeping
positions and protecting infants to keep them safe while sleeping.
The importance of creating supportive environments for our young people as a way of reducing risk taking behaviour and
preventable deaths is highlighted in the Report. Youth Health: A guide to action is acknowledged, and it is recommended
that DHBs should be encouraged to implement it. This will support young people to build healthy connections across
whânau, schools, peers, work and training, culture and environment.
The Mortality Review process brings together “the pieces of the puzzle” at both the local and national level. Local
Child and Youth Mortality Review Groups (LCYMRGs) are currently operating in ten DHBs. It is planned that local
mortality review will be operational in all DHBs within the next year.
“Every death is a tragedy. While we cannot undo the circumstances of deaths we must learn from them and act to prevent
similar deaths. Developing the system of collecting information has been important; we must now continue to develop ways
to make best use of this information to benefit our children and young people. Much work is still to be done.” said Dr
Nick Baker, the Review Committee’s current Chair.
ENDS