Child health research and planning in Europe disadvantaged by major gaps and disparities in published statistics

Background Population data, such as mortality and morbidity statistics, are essential for many reasons, including giving context for research, supporting action on health determinants, formulation of evidence-based policy for health care and outcome evaluation. However, when considering children, it is difficult to find such data, despite children comprising one-fifth of the European population and being in a key formative life stage and dependent on societal support. Moreover, it would be expected that there should be confidence in the key child health data available, with little to no discrepancy between recognized health statistic databases. Methods This study explored the main health databases in or including Europe to collate child mortality data, for both all-cause and specific-cause mortality. Tables were constructed for comparison of values and rankings. Results The results show that there are major differences in reported mortality data between two prominent health statistic databases, difference in coding systems, and unannounced changes within one of the databases. Conclusions The lack of health data for children seems compounded by challenges to the trust and credibility, which are vital if these data are to have utility. Children and society are the losers, and resolution is needed as a priority