Montana Violent Death Reporting System (MT-VDRS) - Violent death is a major public health concern across the United States. Although Montana is a rural state, it is not immune to this epidemic. For nearly 45 years, Montana’s suicide rate has been among the highest nationwide, consistently ranking within the top five. Montana registered the highest firearm death rate in the decade ending in 2013 and has continued to be in the top 5 since. Access to guns as a weapon in Montana also influences other forms of violent deaths such as homicide and domestic violence. To address the burden of these violent deaths, MT Department of Public Health and Human Services’ (DPHHS) Public Health and Safety Division (PHSD) is again applying for funding to collect violent death information using the National Violent Death Reporting System (NVDRS). The purpose of the Montana VDRS (MT-VDRS) request is to continue to collect accurate, timely, and comprehensive surveillance data on violent deaths across Montana using CDC guidelines and web-based data entry system. Additionally, the MT-VDRS will be disseminating data to stakeholders and partners to assist in injury prevention efforts across the state and help guide policy development. To achieve the desired outcomes, MT-VDRS will continue to bring together multiple state agencies and external partners to: Collect data, improve data quality, disseminate data, and explore innovative methods to improve outcomes. From the establishment of these activities two key outputs will be produced. 1) To increase the already 76% of participating coroners in the state and 2) Utilize collected data to disseminate reports and information to partners and the public to support violence prevention, though annual reports, agency specific reports, and possibly a future public dashboard. MT-VDRS has and will continue to focus on statewide data collection across the entire state’s 56 counties. The population of focus in this grant will include all Montanans. Violent deaths continue to afflict both urban and rural communities, men and women, and all age groups. However, suicide disproportionately affects MT veterans, men, young adults, American Indians and older adults. To support our data collection strategy, performance indicators include data timeliness, data completeness, and data quality and standardization. The Office of Epidemiology and Scientific Support (OESS) who maintains vital statistics data will facilitate timely access to death records for MT-VDRS case identification and abstraction. DPHHS has established a MOU with the DOJ’s State ME Office to receive copies of all autopsy reports that fall into the VDRS’s definition of violent deaths. For homicide and suicide data, direct contact will be made with each law enforcement agency and coroner’s office to request and obtain the required information. Other data sources that will be utilized include several existing and past death review boards. Stronger relationships with all Montana coroners and law enforcement agencies have been and will continue to be built through this cooperative agreement.
