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MA/PhD Theses Abstracts of Current Students & Alumni |
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Wilson, Shelley A. June 1979 - AN ANTHROPOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVE ON MORTALITY AND ALCOHOL ABUSE IN HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY, FLORIDA
Abstract: The purpose of this thesis is to describe and analyze alcohol related mortality as noted by the Hillsborough County Medical Examiner's Office of Tampa, Florida. Mortality related to the use and/or abuse of alcohol is analyzed according to demographic variables in order to demonstrate further implications for the Medical Examiner system. Applied anthropology is able to make important contributions to the study of alcohol. Previous studies have concentrated on the impact of alcohol on institutions such as the family, alcohol treatment facilities, and cultural groups. However, postmortem examinations offer some unique advantages in the study of alcohol as death may be viewed as a distinctive event easily compared across cultural boundaries. Data were collected during a three-month internship at the Hillsborough County Medical Examiner's Office. Data collection was initiated by a manual search of all filed and autopsied cases. Completed autopsy reports served as source documents. A coding manual was constructed, and coded information was transferred onto computer cards. Crosstabulations and frequencies were used to analyze the data in terms of the demographic variables of age, race and sex. Classifications of death were also broken down by race, age, sex, and year. These classifications were further analyzed in terms of blood alcohol levels. From January 1974 through May 31, 1978, the Hillsborough County Medical Examiner's Office handled a total of 7381 cases for an annual mean of 1674.75. In this timespan, 681 cases were related to alcohol, drugs or carbon monoxide. The population was comprised of 80.1 percent white and 19.6 percent black, which is similar to the racial profile of Hillsborough County. Males made up 78.7 percent of the total, with females representing the remaining 21.3 percent. The greatest number of cases seen by the Medical Examiner were related to alcohol--562 cases (79.6 percent). Alcohol related cases are defined in this instance as decedents with a measurable blood or urine alcohol level or those suffering from acute cirrhosis of the liver due to a history of alcoholism. Of these cases, 80.1 percent were white with 19.9 percent black, again a ratio similar to that of-the total Hillsborough County population. In terms of sex, the total population included 82.4 percent males and 17.6 percent females. Here, the figures differ from the sex ratio of the county, estimated in July 1976 as 47.7 percent males and 52.3 percent females. Proportionately more alcohol related deaths occurred among males than expected, while fewer females than expected died alcohol related deaths. When alcohol related deaths are analyzed according to age, no significant differences are noted. The situation found in Hillsborough County is compared to findings from two other jurisdictions: Richmond, Virginia, and the State of Maryland. The incidence of alcohol related deaths in Hillsborough County is proportionately smaller than in the other jurisdictions. Literature is cited pointing to the prevalence of alcohol in violent deaths and it is noted that the alcohol related deaths in Hillsborough County correspond somewhat to the nationwide picture. The study concludes that one great weakness in the Hillsborough County Medical Examiner's Office is its relative infancy regarding toxicology. The office is new and is not operating its own laboratory at the present time. As the office incorporates its own toxicology, it is safe to assume that the percentage of alcohol related deaths will grow, and the case load in Hillsborough County will correspond more closely to the national figures. As the Hillsborough County Medical Examiner's Office enlarges its staff and operates its own toxicology laboratory, the alcohol mortality situation should be re-evaluated as it is unlikely that Hillsborough County is an exception to the nationwide alcohol mortality rate.
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