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Objective: The purpose of this study was to present the epidemiology of homicide among children younger than 6 years of age in Jefferson County, Alabama. This study focused on obtaining great detail on homicides and suspicious deaths occurring within a fixed population.Methods: For purposes of this study, cases included Jefferson County deaths attributed to “homicide” or that were “undetermined” as noted in the coroner files among children younger than 6 years of age who were born and died between January 1, 1988 and December, 31, 1998. Victim and offender characteristics were obtained from the Jefferson County Coroner/Medical Examiner Office records. Environmental factors and circumstances surrounding the death were noted as well.Results: The 53 study subjects were mainly female (55%), Black (69%), younger than 2 years of age (85%), had single mothers (38%), and a history of abuse (53%). Offenders were more likely to be male (64%), Black (73%), and a parent of the victim (53%). Homicides primarily resulted from an angry impulse (61%), with hands the most common weapon (61%).Conclusions: The majority of deaths in this study occurred among children younger than age 2, with a high proportion of fatalities among Black children of unmarried mothers. The offender most often knew the victim, with half of all homicides and two-thirds of all infant homicides involving a parent. More than half of the homicides resulted from an angry impulse, while the most common scenario for deaths with undetermined intent involved the caretaker finding the child unresponsive. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Background. In Alabama, little is known about the overall characteristics of job-related injuries. Methods. We examined fatal occupational injuries that occurred in Jefferson County, Alabama, from 1990 through 1999 using files maintained by the Jefferson County Coroner/Medical Examiner Office. Mortality rates were calculated by sex, age, race, occupation, and industry. Results. There were 186 fatal occupational injuries; 136 were unintentional. The overall fatality rate was 4.45 deaths per 100,000 worker-years. Mortality rates were higher among men than among women, and they increased with advancing age. The homicide rate was higher among black workers than among whites. Mining, manufacturing, and transportation were the industries with the highest fatal injury rates. Transportation-related jobs and manual labor were high-risk occupations. Conclusion. High-risk industries should consider worker-targeted injury prevention programs, and particular attention should be paid to elderly workers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]