A model uniform reporting system for firearm fatalities is being piloted by ten organizations across the country as a step toward establishing a national surveillance system. These organizations represent health departments, medical centers and academic institutions. The agencies entering the collaboration had differing levels of expertise in collecting firearm injury data; used different data sources and collection methods; and had markedly differing data coding and storage methods. This session will describe how the organizations worked collaboratively and overcame several barriers to develop and pilot a uniform data set. Barriers encountered included agreement on common data elements and definitions, software issues, submission of data to a national registry (including confidentiality issues and institutional review board approval) and data availability (e.g. some sites had access only to police Supplementary Homicide Reports, while others had access to more detailed police incident reports). The two organizations coordinating the pilot (Harvard's National Firearm Injury Statistics System and the Medical College of Wisconsin's Firearm Injury Center) facilitated consensus on adopting uniform data elements and collection methods via weekly telephone conferences with all participating sites. Additional assistance provided by the coordinators included help with software decisions, funding opportunities and development of guidelines for addressing confidentiality concerns when submitting data to the national registry. This session will present the experience of several of the sites in implementing the uniform reporting system at the local level, including barriers encountered in working with local data providers and acceptability of the common data elements.
Learning Objectives: Particpants will be able to a. Identify barriers local sites encountered when attempting to collect a uniform set of information on all local firearm deaths b. Make a preliminary assessment of the likely feasibility of implementing such a system in their own local area
Keywords: Firearms, Surveillance
Presenting author's disclosure statement:
Organization/institution whose products or services will be discussed: none
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.