Maryland Violent Death Reporting System (MVDRS): Using Data to Tell Victims’ Stories Thomas Manion, M.A. Project Coordinator, MVDRS Maryland Department of Health and Mental Hygiene

A “National” System for Violence Prevention 2002 – Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Public health approach to violence prevention National system with state-level components Five states funded initially (including Maryland)

Currently Funded States

Maryland’s System: MVDRS Maryland Department of Health and Mental Hygiene First Data Collection Year: 2003 Data available through 2010

MVDRS Mission: 1.Maintain detailed body of information on Maryland violent deaths 2.Promote greater scientific understanding of violence 3.Encourage the development of effective violent death prevention and intervention strategies

What constitutes a violent death? “A death resulting from the intentional use of physical force or power* against oneself, another person, or group.” *Includes poisons/drugs

Homicide Suicide Death of Undetermined Intent Accidental (ONLY if firearm-related) Manners of Death Evaluated As ruled by the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner for Maryland

Where does our data come from? Medical Examiner Reports (OCME) Police Reports (State and Local Law Enforcement) Death Certificates (MD Vital Statistics) MVDRS

Data Collected Victim/Suspect demographics Victim/Suspect relationship (if applicable) Victim’s marital status, education, current occupation Time, date, location of injury Weapon and wound details Toxicology Precipitating Circumstances Narratives MVDRS Database

What sets MVDRS data apart? Unprecedented level of detail Precipitating circumstances In-depth narratives

Our Philosophy on Violent Death 1.) Every victim has a story 2.) Prevention should be grounded in scientific research

Stories Trends Prevention Data

Limitations NO data on Maryland residents injured out of state Data Collection Timeline 1-2 year lag between death and inclusion in MVDRS

MVDRS Data Highlights * 2010 *All rates are crude rates per 100,000 population

1,427 violent deaths = 24.7 per 100,000 Male rate (39) more than triple the female rate (11.3) Age had the highest age-specific rate (44.5) Violent Death Overview

Manner of Death

389 deaths = 6.7 per 100,000 Homicide Overview Nearly half of victims were Baltimore residents Nearly 80% of homicide victims were black Most common location of injury was a street/sidewalk/alley (40.6%)

Homicide: Residential County

Homicide: Cause of Death

Most common precipitating circumstances: Argument/Conflict Precipitated by another crime Drug involvement Intimate partner violence Homicide : Circumstantial Data

481 deaths = 8.3 per 100,000 Age groups with the highest rates were (13.7), (11.2) and (11.2) Harford County had the highest suicide rate (11.4) Veterans accounted for nearly 18% of suicides (all males) Suicide Overview

Suicide: Injury Location

Suicide: Cause of Death

Most common precipitating circumstances: Current mental health diagnosis Disclosed intent/suicidal ideations Intimate partner problem Physical health problem Job problem Financial problem Suicide: Circumstantial Data

Only 55% of victims with a current mental health diagnosis were currently being treated Female victims were significantly more likely than males to have a history of suicide attempts (37.8% vs 18.6%) 35.7% of victims left a suicide note Suicide: Circumstantial Data

Recent Publication Suicidology Online, vol. 3, pp Comparison of Maryland suicide deaths by victim age Cumulative data

Recent Publication Four Age Groups: Youth (19 and younger) Young Adult (20-34) Middle Aged (35-64) Elder (65 and older)

Conclusions MVDRS as a source of violent death data Circumstances, special populations Focused prevention efforts By Age?

Thomas Manion Project Coordinator Maryland Violent Death Reporting System Maryland Department of Health and Mental Hygiene