Injuries and Violence in Virginia

In 2006, there were 4,004 deaths that resulted from intentional and unintentional injuries in the Commonwealth. Injury deaths accounted for over one-third of deaths for children between 1 and 9 years old, for one-half of children between 10 and 14, for over three-quarters of adolescent and young adults between the ages of 15 and 24, and for over half of the deaths for adults between 25 and 34.

Motor vehicle traffic crashes, poisonings, falls and suffocations were the leading causes of unintentional injury deaths, accounting for 73% of all unintentional injury deaths.

Virginians aged 45-54, had the highest suicide rates.  Young adults (ages 20-24) had the highest homicide rates.

In 2006, the five leading causes of injury hospitalizations were: (1) Falls; (2) Poisoning; (3) Motor vehicle traffic; (4) Cut/pierce injuries and (5) Striking injuries. Virginians spent a total of 187,410 days in the hospital and over 891 million dollars were billed by hospitals as a result of injury.

VOIRS: Virginia Online Injury Reporting System Updated with 2006 data! This system allows you to create customized reports on various causes and intents of injury by geographic and demographic variables.

What's New

• Injury in Virginia 2006
  This report on injury deaths and hospitalizations in Virginia for the calendar year 2006 is now available. There are two new additions to this Injury in Virginia report: a Virginia Injury Review, which examines hospitalization and death related injuries in Virginia over the last five years (2002-2006) and the inclusion of 2006 hospitalization and death injury data for each of Virginia’s 35 Health Districts.
  

• Violent Death in Virginia: 2006, A Report form the Virginia Violent Death Reporting System is now available. (document is attached)

• The Office of the Chief Medical Examiner’s Annual Report, 2006 is now available. The report represents many years of productive life lost, especially due to unintentional injury- related deaths.
  

• A Suffocation Injury Report and Infant/Childhood Suffocation and Elderly Suffocation fact sheets are now available. These reports examine suffocation deaths and hospitalizations in Virginia from 2002-2206.
  

• Fire and Burn Injury Report and a Burn Prevention and Fire Safety fact sheets. A report on fire and burn related injuries in Virginia from 2001-2005

• Fact sheets on Sexual Violence and Intimate Partner Violence (IPV) are now available.  These fact sheets estimate the extent of sexual violence and IPV among Virginian adults using 2005 and 2006 BRFSS data.
  
  
• Youth Suicide in Virginia, 1996-2005.  A report covering ten years of suicides among Virginia youth aged 10-24.
  
  
• Local Health District Fact Sheets Are Now Available!