 | The 131st Annual Meeting (November 15-19, 2003) of APHA |
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| The 131st Annual Meeting (November 15-19, 2003) of APHA |
Sue Mallonee, RN, MPH, Injury Prevention Service, Oklahoma State Deparment of Health, 1000 NE 10th Street, Oklahoma City, OK 73112, 405-271-3430, suem@health.state.ok.us and R. Dawn Comstock, PhD, CDC EIS Officer stationed in the Oklahoma State Department of Health, Currently at CDC/EPO/DAPHT/State Branch/Oklahoma State Department of Health, 1000 N.E. 10th St, Room 408, Oklahoma City, OK 73117.
Accuracy of Violent Death Reporting in Oklahoma, 2001
Background. Vital statistics (VS) data reveals deaths due to homicide, suicide, and unintentional firearm injuries are the seventh leading cause of death in Oklahoma, accounting for 25% to 35% of all injury deaths. The purpose of this study was to ascertain the accuracy of VS and Medical Examiner (ME) reporting of violent deaths. Methods. VS data was linked to ME data; a gold standard cause of death based upon the CDC violent death case definition was applied to evaluate each surveillance system. Results. A total of 773 violent deaths were reported. The VS system had a sensitivity of 89.1%, 92.8%, and 100% and PVP of 99.1%, 99.0%, and 37.9% for homicide, suicide, and unintentional firearm deaths. The ME system had a sensitivity of 99.2%, 98.6%, and 81.8% and a Predictive Value Positive (PVP) of 95.0%, 99.0%, and 100% for homicide, suicide, and unintentional firearm deaths. ME data suggested that drugs and alcohol were a factor in 12.0% and 24.3% of suicides and 7.7% and 29.0% of homicides; 32.7% of homicides, 47.0% of suicides, and 54.5% of unintentional firearm deaths resulted from handguns. Conclusions. The ME system over-reported violent deaths while the VS system underreported homicides and suicides by 11% and 7% and over-reported unintentional firearm deaths by over 50%. State and national violent death reporting systems that include multiple sources of information would enhance violence prevention efforts in the US.
Learning Objectives:
Keywords: Injury, Violence
Presenting author's disclosure statement:
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.