title: Implementation of Child Death Review in the Netherlands: results of a pilot study.
abstract: Child mortality in the Netherlands declined gradually in the past decades. In total 1130 children and youth aged 0 to 19 years died in 2014 (i.e. 29.4 per 100,000 live births). A better understanding of the background and the circumstances surrounding the death of children as well as the manner and cause of death may lead to preventive measures. Child Death Review (CDR) is a method to systematically analyze child deaths by a multidisciplinary team to identify avoidable factors that may have contributed to the death and to give directions for prevention. CDR could be an addition to further reduce avoidable child deaths in the Netherlands. The purpose of this study is to explore the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats (SWOT) of the pilot-implementation of CDR in a Dutch region. The results are translated in recommendations for future implementation of the CDR method in the Netherlands.
  
  
  
  Children who lived in the pilot region and died aged 29 days after birth until 2 years were, after parental consent, included for reviewing by a regional CDR team. Eighteen logs and seven transcribed records of CDR meetings concerning 6 deceased children were analyzed using Atlas ti. The SWOT framework was used to identify important themes.
  
  
  
  The most important strengths identified were the expertise of and cooperation within the CDR team and the available materials. An important weakness was the poor cooperation of some professional groups. The fact that parents and professionals endorse the objective of CDR was an important opportunity. The lack of statutory basis was a threat.
  
  
  
  Many obstacles need to be taken away before large-scale implementation of CDR in the Netherlands becomes possible. The most important precondition for implementation is the acceptance among professionals and the statutory basis of the CDR method.
authors.affiliation: Department Health Technology and Services Research, University of Twente, Institute for Innovation and Governance Studies, PO Box 217, 7500 AE, Enschede, The Netherlands. s.gijzen@utwente.nl.
authors.forename: Sandra
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Gijzen
authors.affiliation: Department of Paediatrics, BovenIJ Hospital, PO Box 37610, 1030 BD, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.|Department of Forensic Medicine, Municipal Health Service region Utrecht, P.O. Box 51, Zeist, 3700 AB, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Michaëla I
authors.initials: MI
authors.lastname: Hilhorst
authors.affiliation: TNO Child Health, P.O. Box 2215, 2301 CE, Leiden, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Monique P
authors.initials: MP
authors.lastname: L'Hoir
authors.affiliation: Department Health Technology and Services Research, University of Twente, Institute for Innovation and Governance Studies, PO Box 217, 7500 AE, Enschede, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Magda M
authors.initials: MM
authors.lastname: Boere-Boonekamp
authors.affiliation: Department Public Administration, University of Twente, Institute for Innovation and Governance Studies, PO Box 217, 7500 AE, Enschede, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Ariana
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Need
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D002423:Cause of Death; D002648:Child; D046688:Child Mortality; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D008297:Male; D009426:Netherlands / Q000453:epidemiology; D010290:Parents; D010380:Peer Review; D010865:Pilot Projects; D011787:Quality of Health Care; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: Child death review; Child mortality; Prevention; Quality of health care; SWOT