A Multi-State Child Death Review Case Report System: A new web-based data system supporting public health prevention approach to death reviews

The National Center for Child Death Review promotes, supports, and enhances child death review (CDR) team methodology and activities at the national, state and local level to prevent child deaths. The presentation will describe the comprehensive data collection techniques and measurement tools recently implemented to support review teams. A web-based data tool was developed for collecting and reporting information needed for teams to recommend effective interventions in their communities. Expert consultants guided inclusion of data elements needed to understand death circumstances, preceding events or risk factors, and systems involvement. A final data tool version was implemented January 1, 2008, after beta testing began about 2006. Team participation has been incremental, with 25 states participating as of 2008. Confidential web-based reporting is supported at the Michigan Public Health Institute. Some states have up-loaded their earlier data, bringing total deaths in the web-based system to more than 35,000. The majority of states review deaths through 17 years of age using a public health prevention model – rather than fault finding. Most teams review all injury death cases and sudden unexpected infant deaths. Data elements usually include vital records, medical examiner and coroner reports, National Violent Death Reporting System records (including police reports, DA's, etc). Team composition may include representatives from these prior organizations and others from transportation organizations, or other knowledgeable persons, such as EMS, death scene investigators, pediatricians, school personnel, and child protective service, and injury prevention advocacy organizations, as appropriate to the case.