Data and Research

In 2007, there were 3,965 deaths that resulted from intentional and unintentional injuries in the Commonwealth. Injuries are the leading cause of death for Virginians between the ages of 1 and 40. Injuries in Virginia also result in enormous health care costs. In 2007, there were 42,093 injury-related hospital discharges. Virginians spent a total of 203,590 days in a hospital and over 1 billion dollars were billed by hospitals because of injury.

A majority of injuries are unintentional in nature. In 2007, unintentional injuries accounted for 82% of injury hospital discharges and 66% of injury deaths. The leading causes of injury death were firearms, motor vehicle traffic crashes, and poisonings, while the leading causes of injury hospitalization were falls, poisoning, and motor vehicle traffic crashes.

• Poison-Related Attempted and Completed Suicides in Virginia : This report examines poison-related attempted and completed suicides of Virginia residents between 2003 and 2006. Poison-related suicide deaths and suicide attempts resulting in hospitalization were analyzed and compared by examining age, gender, race, method, and geography. The report also provides an explanation of the poisons used in suicide deaths and an in-depth analysis of the circumstances surrounding the deaths.


• Injury Death and Hospitalization Maps: Depicts injury death and hospitalization rates at the locality level (city and county) across maps of Virginia. The maps include rates for the different injury intents from 2003-2007. These maps are a visual representation of the burden of injury across Virginia.
  
  
• Injury in Virginia, 2007: A report on injury deaths and hospitalizations in Virginia for the calendar year 2007 is now available. A new section on emergency room injury data has been included in this years report. Injury related emergency room visits were estimated from the ESSENCE surveillance system conducted through the Virginia Department of Health's Office of Epidemiology. This information highlights the increased knowledge a statewide emergency department surveillance system would bring to the injury prevention community.
  
  
• A Fracture Injury Report and Fracture Injury Fact Sheet are now available. These reports examine fracture-related hospitalizations and deaths in Virginia from 2002-2006.
  
  
• Alcohol and Injury: Research shows that alcohol consumption plays a significant role in both fatal and nonfatal injuries. This new report examines the association between alcohol use and injury death in Virginia from 2004-2006. Read More.