Special section: Saving lives through the National Violent Death Reporting System

Download a PDF of the special section now!

Read and share articles on preventing violent deaths

System helps find preventive solutions for violent deaths: Researchers encouraged to use data
Researchers are using through data caputured by the National Violent Death Reporting System to understand the context of U.S. homicides and other violent deaths, and developing preventive strategies.

NVDRS combines information from police reports, medical examiner and coroner reports, toxicology reports, death certificates, vital records and more. With the linked information, the system is able to provide a more complete picture of the circumstances that contribute to violent deaths, offering researchers an opportunity for innovative analysis.

NVDRS data supporting state work to end lethal violence: System now includes all 50 states
Originally launched in just six states, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s National Violent Death Reporting System is about to enter its 20th year, with all 50 states, Washington, D.C., and Puerto Rico now on board.

Around the country, NVDRS data reveal local areas and populations at risk and inform a range of tailored responses, from work to address suicide among veterans in Alaska to programs to improve elder maltreatment surveillance in North Carolina.

Partnerships key to bringing rich data, narratives to NVDRS: Violent death system continues to expand
Most successful public health endeavors depend on strong partnerships, and the National Violent Death Reporting System is no exception. When a violent death occurs, details on cause and context end up in multiple locations, such as in police notes, in death certificates filed with vital records offices, and in coroners’ reports.

NVDRS is the only system in the country that gathers all that data together, which makes local, state and national partnerships essential for success.

Q&A with researcher Catherine Barber: NVDRS death data can bolster public health – ‘Learn from the dead and let the data live and breathe’
How has NVDRS changed what we know about violent death? Catherine Barber, MPA, a senior researcher at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health’s Injury Control Research Center, who led work to design and test the pilot for CDC’s NVDRS shares insights.