Child injury is a pressing global public health issue with far-reaching consequences for child mortality and long-term disability. Annually, nearly 1 million children and adolescents lose their lives to injuries, with over 95% of these tragedies occurring in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). The burden extends beyond fatalities; non-fatal injuries place immense financial strain on families, disrupt child development, and exacerbate existing inequalities, particularly affecting vulnerable groups such as disabled and rural children. While high-income countries have made measurable progress in injury prevention, LMICs continue to face significant challenges in injury data surveillance, the scalability of effective interventions, and the enforcement of protective policies. Existing child-centered safety strategies often focus on surface-level compliance rather than meaningful engagement, leaving critical threats—such as animal-related injuries, burns, suffocation, and poisonings; disasters caused by extreme climate events; cyber bullying-related suicides and self-harm—understudied and inadequately addressed in research and practice.
This Research Topic seeks to address critical gaps in child injury prevention by integrating key methodological dimensions, including robust monitoring systems, rigorous intervention evaluations, effective policy translation mechanisms, and fostering genuine child participation. The primary goal is to synthesize research evidence from diverse geographical and contextual settings, transforming it into actionable solutions. This approach aims to drive progress toward Sustainable Development Goal 3.2, which focuses on reducing preventable child deaths. Key objectives encompass determining the efficacy of various interventions, enhancing the translation of policies into practical applications, and empowering child-centric strategies. We are particularly committed to ensuring that child participation in safety initiatives evolves from symbolic gestures into truly transformative engagement.
Research boundaries encompass both methodological and contextual dimensions, accounting for variances across regional, population, and injury-specific contexts. We welcome articles focusing on a broad spectrum of themes, including but not limited to the following:
• Surveys on injury incidence and socioeconomic impacts, highlighting underreported injuries, such as animal-related injuries, burns, suffocation, and poisonings; disasters caused by extreme climate events; cyber bullying-related suicides and self-harm. • Evaluation of short- and mid-term effectiveness, scalability, and cost-effectiveness of intervention programs across varying resource settings. • Case studies on the adoption and success of policies for safer environments for children. • Innovative methodologies, e.g., digital tools, mobile platforms, and interactive games, to support participatory intervention design, education, surveillance, and health come improvement. • Disaggregated analyses for different vulnerable child populations, including disabled and refugee groups.
We invite contributions in original research, systematic reviews, policy briefs/advocacy, methodological innovations, and case studies, each supporting the advancement of injury prevention and child safety globally.
Article types and fees
This Research Topic accepts the following article types, unless otherwise specified in the Research Topic description:
Brief Research Report
Classification
Clinical Trial
Editorial
FAIR² Data
FAIR² DATA Direct Submission
General Commentary
Hypothesis and Theory
Methods
Articles that are accepted for publication by our external editors following rigorous peer review incur a publishing fee charged to Authors, institutions, or funders.
Article types
This Research Topic accepts the following article types, unless otherwise specified in the Research Topic description:
Important note: All contributions to this Research Topic must be within the scope of the section and journal to which they are submitted, as defined in their mission statements. Frontiers reserves the right to guide an out-of-scope manuscript to a more suitable section or journal at any stage of peer review.
