Guns are shown at Caso’s Gun-A-Rama in Jersey City, New Jersey, which has been open since 1967. More than one-fourth of “unexpected” child fatalities in Alabama in 2023 occurred using a firearm or weapon, according to a new report from the Alabama Department of Public Health. (Aristide Economopoulos/NJ Monitor)
A majority of “non-medical, unexpected or unexplained” child deaths in the state happen in suburbia, at home and using a firearm or weapon, according to a new report from the Alabama Department of Public Health (ADPH).
The State Child Death Review Team (SCDRT) provided several recommendations as part of the most recent progress report looking at 2023 data. The recommendations include more and more substantial suicide prevention initiatives; improved gun safety laws such as safe storage and increased car seat distribution and education in rural Alabama.
“Most child deaths occur in the home. I mean, overwhelmingly, and most of them are related to accidents. It’s really disturbing that homicide is number two on the list. Those just seem like such preventable things,” said Dr. Scott Harris, Alabama state health officer and the leader of ADPH.
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According to the 2023 Alabama Child Death Review System Progress Report, about 38% of about 800 child fatalities in Alabama in 2023 qualified for review due to being “non-medical, unexpected or unexplained.” The report separates “causes of death” and “manner of death.” The most common manner of death is accidents, accounting for just over 90 deaths, followed by homicides with 42 deaths and suicides with 34 deaths.
More than one-fourth of these child fatalities occurred using a firearm or weapon when looking at causes of death. Most of the time, a handgun was involved.
Dr. Grant Allen, a member of the Alabama Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics, said in an email that trends in child death in the state “are not a surprise” for health care professionals working with children and families, but that “the least expensive interventions that would save the most lives.”
“We all know the families affected by ATVs, firearms, infant sleep position and water safety,” Allen said.
He also suggested making gun safety a nonpolitical issue and challenged the Legislature to be “in support of safety and not weaponizing politics.”
“It is possible to be a hunter and enthusiast without leaving loaded weapons for children to play with. Safety makes sense,” he said.
Accidental death rates have decreased among white children but increased for Black children in Alabama. Allen said poverty and limited access to health care, education and resources are factors in Black child fatalities. Allen said this is due to improved water safety in predominantly white households. But gun safety challenges remain.
“Gun safety is an issue that [is] difficult to address in Alabama,” he said, adding that other conservative states incorporate firearm education in schools and health care.
Sleep-related deaths came in a close second, with 55 deaths classified as Sudden Unexpected Infant Death (SUID). These deaths occurred when the child was sleeping or in a sleeping environment. In 31 of these cases, the sleeping environment was found to have contributed to the child’s death.
Apreill Hartsfield, policy director for VOICES for Alabama Children, said there is a need for public awareness initiatives to ensure families have access to necessary resources.
“Sometimes, it could be limited resources. It could be just not knowing, not understanding. I think there’s a public awareness aspect of that, but also making sure that families have the resources they need to care for an infant,” Hartsfield said.
The third most common cause of death was car accidents, in which children in over half of these accidents lacked proper restraint, such as a car seat. In nearly half of the car accident cases, the child was the driver. This includes all deaths of children under 18, but the report does not provide a breakdown by age.
Allen recommends several policy changes, including mandatory ATV safety education; enforcing restrictions such as prohibiting riders under 16 years old; banning tandem riding; restricting riding on surface streets and requiring helmet use.
Other causes of death include drowning, of which over half occurred in a pool or hot tub, and suffocation.
Allen said that Alabama’s culture of “fierce independence” makes educating families about safe sleep, firearm safety and ATV safety difficult. He said that since there are few laws and little enforcement in these areas, families have come to believe that it won’t happen to them.
“Since we also have very few resources, there are very few advertising campaigns for awareness and very little community-based education,” Allen said.
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