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AVERT Firearm Injury Dashboard

AVERT Firearm Injury Dashboard

Firearm injuries are a serious public health problem. The MDHHS Advancing Violence Epidemiology in Real-Time (AVERT) program is funded by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). One of the goals of this program is to share near real-time data on firearm injuries that result in emergency department (ED) visits. MDHHS tracks and analyzes the data to look at trends over time and identify high-risk populations. This information can then be used to advise communities and policymakers and guide data-driven firearm injury prevention programs.

This dashboard shows the count and rate of firearm injuries seen in Michigan EDs.

AVERT Dashboard

AVERT Dashboard

  • The data in this dashboard come from the Electronic Surveillance System for the Early Notification of Community-Based Epidemics (ESSENCE). Firearm injury visits are identified using the CDC’s definition for firearm-related injury.

    ESSENCE collects real-time ED visit data from 100% of the state’s EDs. ESSENCE collects data from both the chief complaint free text fields and diagnoses upon patient discharge from the ED (via ICD-10-CM codes). These data are de-identified; personal information such as name, date of birth, social security number or address is not included.

    Data Considerations

    • These data are encounter-based. It is possible that some people could be counted multiple times for the same injury event or multiple separate injury events. For example, if someone visits the ED twice for the same issue, they will be counted two times.
    • Rates for this dashboard are calculated using an encounter-based rate. This means the total count of ED visits are used as the denominator. This accounts for anything that may impact the number of ED visits reported in a hospital.
    • The displays of geographic location (e.g., regional counts and rates) are based on the treating facility's location not on patient residence. This is because many firearm visits lack residential zip code information.
    • These data may change as more information becomes available. Data may be revised due to delayed reporting, data validation processes, or corrections based on newly received information
    • Interpreting patient demographic should be done with caution because in some instances there may be quite a bit of missing or unknown information.
    • These data do not include patients admitted directly to the hospital (i.e., not treated in the ED first).

     

    AVERT Firearm Injury Dashboard Technical Documentation

Questions regarding this dashboard may be directed to: MDHHS-InjuryData@michigan.gov.