LAUSR

Background Unintentional injuries are the leading cause of death for children under age 18 years globally Mozambique hasn’t any published studies of epidemiological profile of an unintentional violent death in children. Aims: describe the epidemiological distribution of unintentional violent death in children at Maputo-Mozambique. Methods A 454 unintentional death autopsy reports were reviewed in children at ages 0–18, from a total of 3188 autopsies done from January 2016 to December 2017 at Forensic Medicine Services in Maputo Central Hospital, covering the area of Maputo city and Province. Results In all cases there is a ratio of 1.4/1 male to female deaths, and the most affected range is from 0–4 years old in 34.14% (154/454). Road traffic accident represent most common cause of death 45.77% (211/454), burns 14.91% (Fire/Liquid, 68/454), and drowning 12.94% (59/454). Most cases of road traffic accident occurred in the morning 06 am–12 pm 49,78% (227/45). Conclusion Findings of he epidemiological patterns of injuries show that in all ages males are more often committed by death, and the road traffic accident is the most frequent cause of death in all groups of age followed by burns. This study shows the needs to prioritise of promoting safety behaviours to reduce the burden of unintentional violent death children in our community. It may be confidently predicted that the rise in the number of vehicles in Maputo city and province will result in an increasing burden of death resulting from traffic accident in the absence of effective interventions.