Child injuries are largely absent from child survival initiatives presently on the global agenda. Through this report, the World Health Organization, the United Nations Children's Fund and many partners have set out to elevate child injury to a priority for the global public health and development communities. It should be seen as a complement to the UN Secretary-General's study on violence against children released in late 2006 (that report addressed violence-related or intentional injuries). Both reports suggest that child injury and violence prevention programs need to be integrated into child survival and other broad strategies focused on improving the lives of children. Evidence demonstrates the dramatic successes in child injury prevention in countries which have made a concerted effort. These results make a case for increasing investments in human resources and institutional capacities. Implementing proven interventions could save more than a thousand children's lives a day.--p. vii.

The World Health Organization recognizes that injuries are the leading cause of death and disability to children after their first birthday. There is also high morbidity associated with injuries sustained in childhood, often affecting people for the rest of their lives. For every child who dies from injury, there are several thousand who require medical care, many who live with varying degrees of disability. Children and adolescents (0–19 years of age) are at increased risk of mortality and morbidity due to injuries such as road traffic, burns, falls, poisoning, drowning, self-harm and interpersonal violence. There are proven ways to prevent many child injuries, yet there are still gaps in our knowledge. By understanding the impact of determinants of health (i.e., the social and economic environment, the physical environment and a person’s individual characteristics and behaviors), effective prevention interventions can be designed and implemented, with a high return on investment. This Special Issue covers an eclectic range of studies, the common goal of which is to reduce the global burden of child injury-related mortality and morbidity.

Children's health has clearly improved over the past several decades. Significant and positive gains have been made in lowering rates of infant mortality and morbidity from infectious diseases and accidental causes, improved access to health care, and reduction in the effects of environmental contaminants such as lead. Yet major questions still remain about how to assess the status of children's health, what factors should be monitored, and the appropriate measurement tools that should be used. Children's Health, the Nation's Wealth: Assessing and Improving Child Health provides a detailed examination of the information about children's health that is needed to help policy makers and program providers at the federal, state, and local levels. In order to improve children's health-and, thus, the health of future generations-it is critical to have data that can be used to assess both current conditions and possible future threats to children's health. This compelling book describes what is known about the health of children and what is needed to expand the knowledge. By strategically improving the health of children, we ensure healthier future generations to come.

In the United States, some populations suffer from far greater disparities in health than others. Those disparities are caused not only by fundamental differences in health status across segments of the population, but also because of inequities in factors that impact health status, so-called determinants of health. Only part of an individual's health status depends on his or her behavior and choice; community-wide problems like poverty, unemployment, poor education, inadequate housing, poor public transportation, interpersonal violence, and decaying neighborhoods also contribute to health inequities, as well as the historic and ongoing interplay of structures, policies, and norms that shape lives. When these factors are not optimal in a community, it does not mean they are intractable: such inequities can be mitigated by social policies that can shape health in powerful ways. Communities in Action: Pathways to Health Equity seeks to delineate the causes of and the solutions to health inequities in the United States. This report focuses on what communities can do to promote health equity, what actions are needed by the many and varied stakeholders that are part of communities or support them, as well as the root causes and structural barriers that need to be overcome.

Injuries are a leading cause of death and disability in children. This report presents evidence on how they can be prevented and calls for greater commitment and action from policy-makers and practitioners to decrease the burden. Every year, unintentional injuries kill nearly 42,000 children and young people under the age of 20 in the WHO European Region. Injuries are the leading cause of death among those aged 5-19 years, and 5 out of 6 of these deaths occur in low- and middle-income countries. Irrespective of country income, the burden falls disproportionately on children from the most disadvantaged groups. The leading types of unintentional injuries are road traffic injuries, drowning, poisoning, burns and falls. All injury types have similar main causes and socioeconomic and environmental determinants. Children are particularly vulnerable to injuries and need special consideration to safeguard their rights to health and safe environments, free from injury. This report, companion to the World Report on Child Injury Prevention, presents the evidence on both the great potential for injury prevention and the effectiveness and value for money of measures already in use in European countries with low injury mortality. It shows why health systems and particularly programs for child health throughout the WHO European Region should give priority to preventing and controlling child injury.

America's Children is a comprehensive, easy-to-read analysis of the relationship between health insurance and access to care. The book addresses three broad questions: How is children's health care currently financed? Does insurance equal access to care? How should the nation address the health needs of this vulnerable population? America's Children explores the changing role of Medicaid under managed care; state-initiated and private sector children's insurance programs; specific effects of insurance status on the care children receive; and the impact of chronic medical conditions and special health care needs. It also examines the status of "safety net" health providers, including community health centers, children's hospitals, school-based health centers, and others and reviews the changing patterns of coverage and tax policy options to increase coverage of private-sector, employer-based health insurance. In response to growing public concerns about uninsured children, last year Congress voted to provide $24 billion over five years for new state insurance initiatives. This volume will serve as a primer for concerned federal policymakers and regulators, state agency officials, health plan decisionmakers, health care providers, children's health advocates, and researchers.