 | The 131st Annual Meeting (November 15-19, 2003) of APHA |
|
| The 131st Annual Meeting (November 15-19, 2003) of APHA |
Michael Durfee, MD, LA County Department of Health Services, LA County Department of Health Services, 600 S Commonwealth, Los Angeles, CA 90005 and Joshua Durfee, Colorado School of Public Health, Colorado MPH Student, 210 Starlight Crest, La Canada, CA 91011, 303 4997377, tadmjd@msn.com.
Geographic demographic and temporal data patters of infant homicide provide insights into death and nomenclature. Reconciliation of matched health, social service and criminal justice data adds to that insight. Public health professionals and child death review teams can use this data for policy and program planning. Infant homicide data is unique. Adolescent homicides decreased between 1993-2000 while infant homicide rates have remained steady to match 17 year old rates in 2000. Infant homicides peak in the first day of life and vary by race, gender, perpetrator relationship, and cause of death. Nomenclature varies between and within professions. Rates vary between states by a factor of three with no clear explanation. Male homicide rates in young adults surpass the peak in infancy while female infant homicide rates are never surpassed. Infant homicides provide a proxy measure for fatal child abuse and neglect. Perpetrators are almost always caretakers (e.g., child abuse) and infants include 40 percent of all child homicides by caretaker. Criminal justice systems and vital statistics use the designation homicide, with similar definition but varied results. Social services use different terms, “fatal child abuse” and “fatal child neglect”. All systems vary by local application of the same standards. Data on deaths that cross state lines are separated. Data models will be used to display patterns of infant homicide including contrasting rates between states and matching and reconciling data between professions. Data analysis and empirical models will be used for policy and program planning.
Learning Objectives:
Keywords: Infant Mortality, Homicide
Related Web page: ican-ncfr.org
Presenting author's disclosure statement:
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.