Deaths Under Five Committee cases reviewed in 2018
Summary of full DU5C reviews in 2018:
- In 2018, the full DU5C reviewed 60 cases.
- Of the cases reviewed by full DU5C, 53% (32) involved male children and 47% (28) female children.
- Of the cases reviewed by the full DU5C, the manner of death was 85% (51) undetermined, 13% (8) natural and 2% (1) accident.
- Of the cases reviewed by the full DU5C, 78% (47) involved children less than one year old.
- Of the cases reviewed by the full DU5C, 22% (13) involved children aged one to five years.
Summary of executive reviews in 2018:
- In 2018, the executive team reviewed 60 cases.
- Of the cases reviewed by the executive team, 50% (30) involved male children and 50% (30) female children.
- Of the cases reviewed by the executive team, 50% (30) involved children less than one year old.
- Of the executive reviews involving children less than one year, the manner of death was 73% (22) natural, 3% (1) homicide, 17% (5) undetermined, 7% (2) accident.
- Of the cases reviewed by the executive team, 50% (30) involved children aged one to five years.
- Of the executive reviews involving children aged one to five years, the manner of death was 53% (16) natural, 47% (14) accident.
Collectively, for all executive team reviews, the manner of death was 63% (38) natural, 27% (16) accident, 2% (1) homicides and 8% (5) undetermined deaths.
Total cases reviewed by the DU5C (executive team + full committee) in 2018:
- In 2018, there were 60 cases reviewed by the executive team and 60 cases reviewed by the full DU5C, for a combined total of 120 cases.
- Of all cases reviewed by the executive team and full DU5C, 52% (62) involved male children and 48% (58) female children.
- Collectively, for all executive team and full DU5C reviews, the manner of death was 38% (46) natural, 14% (17) accident, 1% (1) homicide and 47% (56) undetermined.
- Of the cases reviewed by the executive team and full DU5C in 2018, 87% (107) involved deaths that occurred in 2016 and 2017.
Analysis of findings
Chart 7 demonstrates the findings of manner of death for cases reviewed by the executive and full DU5C reviews in 2018. The majority of executive reviews involved natural deaths. The majority of full DU5C reviews involved deaths where the manner was undetermined.
Chart 7: Manner of death – executive vs. full DU5 reviews (2018) (n=120)
Chart 8 demonstrates the manner of death categorized by age for both the executive and full DU5C in 2018. The majority of executive reviews of natural deaths involved children less than one year old. The majority of full DU5C reviews of undetermined deaths involved children less than one year old.
Chart 8: Manner of death based on age (<1yr vs. 1-5 yrs) and level of review (executive vs. full DU5 Committee) – 2018 (n=120)
Chart 9 demonstrates that 24% of all DU5C referrals in 2018 came from Central Region, 31% of referrals came from West Region, 35% of referrals came from the East Region and 10% of referrals came from the North Region (based on regional boundaries of the Office of the Chief Coroner (2015).
Chart 9:
