The Step safely guidelines: A catalyst to address the burden of falls in children and adolescents

Peden, Margie; Ameratunga, Shanthi; Mytton, Julie; Vincenten, Joanne; Wainiqolo, Iris; Puvanachandra, Prasanthi; Lukaszyk, Caroline

Abstract

Globally, falls caused an estimated 684,277 deaths in 2019 and 36·4 million disability-adjusted life-years. Although most of these falls occur in older adults, they are also a leading cause of injury for children and adolescents (age <19 years), accounting for more than 100 children dying every day or 38 000 every year. Additionally, falls account for up to 56% of all injury-related hospital visits by children in low-resource settings and are a top ten cause of years lived with a disability for those aged 5–19 years.
The recently published Step Safely technical package by WHO provides evidence for action at primary, secondary, and tertiary prevention levels on this important child and adolescent public health issue. However, most of the evidence is from high-income countries and is not easily generalised to low-income settings where the greatest burden of childhood falls occurs.

• Journal Article Type: Note
• Acceptance Date: May 27, 2022
• Online Publication Date: Jul 7, 2022
• Publication Date: Oct 1, 2022
• Deposit Date: May 29, 2022
• Publicly Available Date: Jan 8, 2023
• Journal: The Lancet Child and Adolescent Health
• Electronic ISSN: 2352-4642
• Publisher: Elsevier
• Peer Reviewed: Not Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 6
• Issue: 10
• Pages: 673-674
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/S2352-4642%2822%2900194-8
• Keywords: falls, Step safely guidelines, children and adolescents, disability, child mortality
• Public URL: https://uwe-repository.worktribe.com/output/9577065