Friday, July 8, 2022
This month, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's (CDC) National Center for Injury Prevention and Control released several new data resources on drug overdose and firearm injuries.
New Nonfatal Overdose Data (DOSE) Dashboard
Research shows that people who have had at least one overdose are more likely to have another. The real-time collection of data on suspected overdoses treated in the emergency department (ED) can be used to quickly identify, track, and respond to changes in drug overdose trends. CDC's Drug Overdose Surveillance and Epidemiology (DOSE) system uses electronic health record information for near real-time syndromic surveillance to analyze data and rapidly identify surges in suspected drug overdose-related ED visits. In order to share the nonfatal drug overdose data from DOSE, CDC recently launched a new interactive data visualization tool, the DOSE Dashboard, which represents the most up-to-date data that the CDC's DOSE system has available and is updated shortly after new data are made available each month.
New Fatal Overdose Data (SUDORS) Dashboard
CDC recently released an interactive data visualization tool, the State Unintentional Drug Overdose Reporting System (SUDORS) dashboard, to help users find comprehensive information on drug overdose deaths drawn from the SUDORS system. SUDORS provides comprehensive data on unintentional and undetermined intent drug overdose deaths collected from death certificates and medical examiner/coroner reports (including scene findings, autopsy reports, and full postmortem toxicology findings). Combined, these sources offer valuable fatal overdose data about drugs involved in overdose deaths, demographic characteristics, circumstances surrounding overdose deaths, and potential opportunities for intervention.
Firearm Injury Surveillance Through Emergency Rooms (FASTER) program
Firearm injuries are a serious public health problem in the United States, and over 100,000 Americans experience a fatal or nonfatal firearm injury each year. CDC is funding 10 state health departments through the Firearm Injury Surveillance Through Emergency Rooms (FASTER) program to provide data in near real-time on emergency visits from nonfatal firearm injuries. CDC's newly released MMWR uses FASTER data to analyze rates of firearm-related emergency department (ED) visits by community social vulnerability, a measure that assesses social and economic disadvantages communities face. The report found that between 2018-2021, rates of ED visits for firearm injuries were higher in more socially vulnerable communities, including those experiencing more poverty, unemployment, and lower incomes and educational attainment, and underscores the importance of understanding the factors impacting communities to inform tailored prevention strategies and interventions to reduce inequities in risk for firearm injuries.
For more information or if you have any questions, please contact Cristi Schwarcz at cschwarcz@cdc.gov.