Injury and Violence in New York State
Data surveillance is a fundamental tool in injury prevention. Data surveillance systems are used to identify at-risk populations, predict patterns, and recognize risk factors.
The most recent data available shows that injuries are the leading cause of death for New Yorkers ages 1 through 34 years and are among the top causes of death for all other age groups. Nearly 8,000 New Yorkers die every year as a result of injury. Additionally, injuries are consistently among the leading causes of hospitalization for all age groups. More than 155,000 individuals are injured severely enough to require hospitalization annually. Another 1.5 million injured New Yorkers are treated and released from an emergency department each year.
- County Traffic Injury Data Reports These reports describe frequencies and rates of deaths and injuries due to unintentional motor vehicle crashes, including separate tables for occupants, motorcyclists, pedestrians, and pedal cyclists.
- Overview of New York State Injury Statistics
- Injury Prevention Statistics for New York State Residents
- Violent Death Reporting System
- Contact Information
Overview of New York State Injury Statistics
The two main injury data surveillance systems used in New York State are the Vital Statistics Death Files and the Statewide Planning and Research Cooperative System (SPARCS). Through the Vital Statistics Death Files, we can track all deaths due to injury. SPARCS can be used to track all hospitalizations and emergency department visits due to injury. Both of these surveillance systems include data variables used to describe patient demographics and the underlying causes and outcomes of the injury.
In addition, the Injury Prevention Program houses the New York State Crash Outcome Data Evaluation System (see our Motor Vehicle Traffic Crash Statistics webpage). The Crash Outcome Data Evaluation System is a database that matches individual records from the Department of Motor Vehicles Accident Information System to the Department of Health Emergency Medical Services (Pre-Hospital Care Reports) and Hospital Discharge databases.
