Puerto rico advancing surveillance of violent deaths using the national violent death reporting system - the risk of homicide in puerto rico is greater than that of suicides, and the risk of homicides…

Puerto rico advancing surveillance of violent deaths using the national violent death reporting system - the risk of homicide in puerto rico is greater than that of suicides, and the risk of homicides and suicides tends to be greater for males than for females. This contrast is greatest for firearm homicides in particular. Puerto rico homicide rates are the highest when compared to U.S. Populations. Male homicide rates in puerto rico remain the highest in comparison to all U.S. Populations, while female homicide rates in puerto rico are surpassed by rates in U.S. Black, and american indian populations. Approximately 90% of all homicides in puerto rico occur using a firearm. The risk of firearm homicides in 2018, in puerto rico relative to the U.S. White population was 15.6 times greater for males and 4.3 times for females. Since september 2016, puerto rico participates in the nvdrs and has successfully implemented a surveillance system for all violent deaths in the island, including the smaller islands of vieques and culebra. The puerto rico violent deaths reporting system (prvdrs) operates under the puerto rico institute of statistics (pris) and has signed collaboration agreements with the three main sources of violent deaths information: the bureau of puerto rico police (bprp), the institute of forensic sciences (IFS), and department of health (DOH). The successful implementation of a violent death reporting system in puerto rico is reflected in the high incident completion rates for the period 2017-2020 as well as, %DC, %CME, %LE, and % toxicology with documentation. In the last five years, the prvdrs has made improvements to the surveillance system in order to address project challenges and enhance project performance. The prvdrs obtained supplemental funding in year 05 to improve the collection of firearm data from additional data sources including the center for the collection, analysis and dissemination of criminal intelligence (cradic) at police headquarters, and the national integrated ballistic information network (nibin) forensic analysis located at the IFS. With this project, the prvdrs was able to increase the quality, timeliness, and completeness nvdrs firearm variables and add four new variables. The proposed work plan seeks to improve the collection of complete, timely, and high-quality data that can be used to inform violence prevention efforts and ultimately reduce violent deaths in puerto rico. The three main outcomes of the new project period are: 1. Sustain the strong working relationship with three key partners responsible for documenting violent deaths in puerto rico (i.e. bprp, IFS, DOH); 2. Disseminate data and reports to key partners and stakeholders (e.g. county governments, community organizations, universities, non-governmental organizations, etc.); 3. Develop capacity to determine the geographic distribution of violent deaths at the census tract level and understand the social determinants of health in relation to violent death-related health disparities. Goal 1 focuses on improving completeness, timeliness, and quality of violent death surveillance data. Goal 2 includes objectives and activities related to the advisory board and key stakeholders. Goal 3 refers to an effective dissemination of prvdrs. Finally, goal 4 aims to develop capacity to geospatial analysis to describe the geographic distribution of violent death and understand the social determinants of health in relation to violent death-related heath disparities of violent deaths at the census tract level.