Elder Maltreatment Surveillance Pilot Project

In 2009 the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) launched the Elder Maltreatment Surveillance Pilot Project (EMSP) in Kentucky and North and South Carolinas. All three states are part of the National Violent Death Reporting System (NVDRS). This presentation concerns data from North Carolina and Kentucky. Data linkage in NC involved three files: APS records, death certificate records, and NC-VDRS records. Using the last five digits of social security numbers in each file, APS data were merged with the death file using two strings proven valid and successful over time by the NC State Center for Health Statistics. In KY, the complete electronic, centralized, APS statewide data set was downloaded. Elders 60 and above, were filtered to merge with death certificates. Complete electronic, centralized, statewide death certificates were merged with decedents under age 60 removed from the complete file. Two data sets from the KY 2005-2006 death certificates were created: (1) non-fatal APS records and (2) APS records linked to a death certificate, with only file (2) used for further linkage. Findings revealed total deaths 60+ for 2005-2008: 241,549 (NC) and 159,912 (KY). There were 11,289 substantiated APS reports (NC) and 88,905 (KY). There were 413 violent deaths of elders in NC and 785 in KY. Of these, there were 49 APS violent deaths (NC) and 52 in KY. Once established, these linkages allow further analysis of the data for trends and relationships in order to inform intervention and prevention efforts around elder maltreatment.