Back to Annual Meeting Page		American Public Health Association 133rd Annual Meeting & Exposition December 10-14, 2005 Philadelphia, PA

Abstract #116551

Malinda Steenkamp, Division of Violence Prevention, National Center for Injury Prevention and Control, CDC, 4770 Buford Hwy (MS-K60), Atlanta, GA 30341, 770.488.4476, auu9@cdc.gov and DD White, MS, National Center for Injury Prevention and Control, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 4770 Buford Hwy, NE, MS K-60, Atlanta, GA 30341.

Background/Objectives: The National Violent Death Reporting System (NVDRS) collects detailed, timely information on violent deaths to provide high quality data useful for violence prevention. Methods: NVDRS is a population-based surveillance system that collects data on all violent deaths coordinated by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Seventeen funded states currently collect information from multiple data sources, including death certificates (DC) and coroner/medical examiner (CME) files. This paper presents preliminary descriptive data from six states. Results: For the data year 2003, NVDRS included 7,418 violent deaths for the first six funded states. Based on DC data, 77% of cases were male; 69% were White, 26% Black and 1% Asian/Pacific Islander; 5% were of Hispanic origin; 40% were 20-39 years. 3,452 cases (47%) were due to suicide, 1,980 (27%) to homicide and 1,875 (25%) were of undetermined intent. About 2% of deaths involved legal intervention or unintentional firearm deaths. CME data showed that, of the 2,809 suicides where circumstances were known, 40% had a mental health problem and 24% had a conflict with an intimate partner. About 4% of the suicide victims were the perpetrator of intimate partner violence (IPV) in the month before death. Of the 816 homicides where circumstances were known, 22% of cases were associated with a crime (e.g., robbery); 21% involved IPV; and about 2% of cases were gang-related. Conclusions: NVDRS links data from different data sources and improves our understanding of violent deaths to help target interventions and funds, develop policies and evaluate strategies.

Learning Objectives: At the conclusion of this presentation, the participant should be able to

(
• Explain how NVDRS collects data on violent deaths; (
• Describe preliminary findings on homicides and suicides; and (
• Discuss how the National Violent Death Reporting System (NVDRS) contributes to our knowledge of violent deaths.

Keywords: Surveillance, Violence

Related Web page: www.cdc.gov/ncipc/profiles/nvdrs/facts.htm

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

I wish to disclose that I have NO financial interests or other relationship with the manufactures of commercial products, suppliers of commercial services or commercial supporters.