Review of Child Fatality Review

Well, it's been a busy day on the blog! I'm writing this time to show off a very positive review of Dr. Alexander's Child Fatality Review that was published in the International Association of Forensic Nurses' latest newsletter. I am instructed to inform you that the views expressed herein are those of the author, Eileen Giardino, and not necessarily those of the IAFN as a whole.

Having done that, allow me to share the goodness:

Child Fatality Review: An Interdisciplinary Guide and Photographic Reference
By Randall Alexander, MD, Ph.D., FAAP (Editor)
G. W. Medical Publishing, Inc. (2007) ISBN 10: 1-878060-68-9
On The Edge - Summer 2008

Child Fatality Review: An Interdisciplinary Guide and Photographic Reference provides a comprehensive look at national and international problems that cause children to die. The theme of the text is the importance of knowing the how’s and why’s of child deaths in order to determine solutions to the problem. Societies value the integrity of child welfare and well being such that a breakdown in the protection of children is a marker of how well a society is functioning. This exhaustive reference is for professionals working with children and those involved in any aspect of the child death review process to understand the issues surrounding child deaths and then to take steps to prevent further deaths of children. It helps professionals learn how to manage cases of child fatality.

Although the emotional response to the loss of a child has not changed over the ages, what has changed are the processes of the review of child deaths. Child death review teams set a high standard for understanding why a child died and what could have happened to prevent the loss of that child. The text provides valuable information for clinicians who either work in specific clinical areas or need to better understand specifics about aspects of child death.

This comprehensive text has fifty-one (51) chapters divided into five sections that provide an exhaustive account of a range of issues related to understanding child fatality. The text’s editor, Dr Alexander, is a national leader in the field of child maltreatment, has been a member of the U. S. Advisory Board on Child Abuse and Neglect, and is a leading authority on child death review. Each chapter is well referenced and provides an up to date look at available evidence and helps clinicians understand the medical, legal and psychosocial issues related to the specific topic. What is compelling about this text is the breadth of the topics covered and the relevance of accompanying photographs to better illustrate the many aspects of child injury and death.

The first section contains two overarching chapters that outline the problem of child death, the relevance of child death review teams, and the epidemiology of how children die in the US and throughout the world.

The book’s second section includes 23 chapters and provides detailed information on the spectrum of child fatalities. Chapter topics in this section include the variety of causes of child death, such as medical causes (infection, cancers), violence (burns, abusive injuries, neglect), suicide, and both preventable and non-preventable causes (drowning, congenital defects). Each of the chapters provides an overview of the problem and specific details that serve to enhance the clinicians understanding of each topic. The informative text provides compelling illustrations and photographs that provide a realistic clinical grounding for the material presented.

The third section includes eight chapters that comprehensively illustrate the entire process of child death review. Chapters in this section describe models used in child death review, as well as international, national and cultural issues that may arise. For example, one chapter addresses how the military approaches child death review.

Section Four includes the components of child death review. This chapter section taken as a whole frame out the various disciplines involved in a multidisciplinary approach to child death review. Chapters describe perspectives of coroners, health care professionals, law enforcement officers, and others who work to address fatal child maltreatment. The range of chapters is broad in this section and includes topics such as childcare centers, the grieving process and family support, death prevention efforts, and intimate partner violence.

The fifth and final section includes two chapters that outline a set of recommendations for child death review teams as well as articulating a vision for the future. The text proposes that as technology increases and appreciation for the significance of death review teams grows, there will be a greater collaboration among child death teams on both a national and international level. For those who work with children in the field of abuse, this well documented text will help all involved give better care to healthy children and address the myriad of child abuse issues in child death review.


Column Editor Angelo Giardino, MD, Ph.D., MPH


Reviewed By Eileen Giardino, RN, Ph.D., FNP-BC
Associate Professor, University of Texas Health Science Center- Houston