Child death review

The Protection of Children and Youth Welfare and Rights Act was amended on April 24, 2019. Article 13 indicates that health authorities must conduct a child death review (CDR) for children who die when aged 6 years and younger and periodically release analysis results. The present article includes three sections. First, we explain why CDR should be implemented. Second, we introduced the development of CDR. Third, we suggest appropriate measures to implement a CDR program. CDR is defined as a collaborative process that brings people together from different sectors and multiple disciplines to share and discuss comprehensive information on circumstances leading to the death of a child. Moreover, notable and potentially remediable factors are identified, and recommendations for system improvements are made to prevent future child deaths. Four steps were recommended to implement a CDR program at the city or county government level. Step 1: a deputy mayor or magistrate of the city or county government is appointed as the convener of the CDR team and invites core members to attend regular meetings. Step 2: the health bureau of the city or county is established as the coordinating center for the collection of basic information regarding deceased children and is responsible for arranging the meetings. Step 3: the CDR meeting agenda is followed. Step 4: meeting minutes and recommendations are recorded. Health authorities in the central government collect recommendations from city or county governments and use them to design relevant prevention and control strategies to effectively reduce child mortality.