Indicator: Unintentional Injuries

Priority or Priorities: Early Childhood Development, ACES/Resiliency
Initiative(s): Promote and Support Universal Home Visiting Services 7, 8, 10
Outcome (s): Children and youth respected, safe and nurtured in their communities

Why This is Important

Unintentional injuries are the leading cause of death for Maine residents below the age of 35. They are caused by motor vehicle accidents, fire/burns, falls, drowning, poisoning, and firearms. Maine’s youngest people are not safe when they suffer the consequences of preventable unintentional injuries. Injuries account for about 39% of the loss of productive life for people under 35 years old. This exceeds the losses of productive life from heart disease, cancer and stroke combined.

Where We Stand

The unintentional injury death rate (five-year floating average) for Maine children and youth aged 0-19 dropped from 1990-1994 to 1994-1998. As of 2001-2005, the unintentional injury death rate has increased slightly to 15.4 deaths per 100,000 people under the age of 19.

Data Source and Context

This data is compiled and reported by the Office of Data, Research and Vital Statistics, Bureau of Health, Maine Department of Health and Human Services. The source of the data is the Maine mortality data files.