Nebraska Violent Death Reporting System
Violent death, including homicide and suicide, is a major public health problem with implications for premature loss of life and substantial economic impact through loss of wages and medical costs. Preventing these deaths begins with understanding the contributing circumstances of such deaths. The National Violent Death Reporting System is the only state-based reporting system that compiles data on violent deaths from multiple sources (law enforcement reports, coroner reports, toxicology reports, and vital statistics data). This data provides critical information on the “who, when, where, and how" to better understand why the violent deaths occurred. For additional information on NVDRS, please visit the CDC's NVDRS webpage.
NEVDRS Overview Information
State Unintentional Drug Overdose Reporting System
SUDORS abstracts data for drug overdose deaths, including accidental overdose deaths, from the same sources as NVDRS. Like NVDRS, SUDORS provides comprehensive information on the contributing circumstances to drug overdose deaths to better inform prevention and response efforts. For additional information on SUDORS, please visit the CDC's SUDORS webpage.
SUDORS Overview Information
Our Partners
The Nebraska Violent Death Reporting System (NEVDRS) has been funded by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) since 2017. SUDORS data collection began in 2020. Our partners are frontline investigators, including law enforcement, coroners, and medical examiners. Since the beginning of NEVDRS and SUDORS, voluntary participation among data providers has expanded considerably. Currently, NEVDRS and SUDORS have access to most applicable deaths across Nebraska's 93 counties. This is critical, as the information collected during a death investigation provides valuable context to the injury.
Data Provider and Partner Information
The Data
NVDRS and SUDORS collect facts from death certificates, coroner/medical examiner reports, law enforcement reports, and toxicology reports on each homicide, suicide, unintentional firearm fatality, unintentional drug overdose fatality, and deaths of undermined intent. Over 600 unique data elements are collected for each death. Together, these elements provide valuable context about violent deaths. Examples of data elements are listed below:
- Demographic information
- Injury/death location
- Cause and manner of death
- Mental health conditions and treatment
- Alcohol or substance abuse and treatment
- Suicidal ideation and attempt history
- Relationship problems
- Financial problems
- Legal problems
- Substances present, including those contributing to applicable deaths
- Naloxone administration
This list is not exhaustive. Please view the coding manuals attached below for details regarding each data element collected for NVDRS and SUDORS.
NVDRS and SUDORS Coding Manual
Data Reports
Violent death data is available by request and at a variety of online sources.
CDC's WISQARS™ is an interactive, online database that provides fatal and nonfatal injury, violent death, and cost of injury data. Researchers, the media, public health professionals, and the public can use WISQARS™ data to learn more about the public health and economic burden associated with unintentional and violence-related injury in the United States.
The drug overdose death data presented below come from the CDC's State Unintentional Drug Overdose Reporting System (SUDORS). 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).
The NVDRS Restricted Access Database (RAD) is a de-identified, multi-state, case-level data set comprising hundreds of unique variables. The database includes short narratives to describe the circumstances related to violent deaths, including descriptions from law enforcement and coroner/medical examiner investigative reports. The RAD contains confidential information that could lead to accidental disclosure of the identity of suspects and victims. CDC protects these data by requiring users to meet certain eligibility requirements and to take steps necessary to ensure the security of data, preserve confidentiality, and prevent unauthorized access.
A non-exhaustive list of journal articles and other reports referencing data from NVDRS.
A non-exhaustive list of journal articles and other reports referencing data from SUDORS.
Nebraska NVDRS and SUDORS Data
- Suicide
- Homicide
- Fatal Drug Overdose
Contact
For additional information and inquiries contact NEVDRS program personnel.