South Carolina Violent Death Reporting System (SCVDRS)
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) established the National Violent Death Reporting System (NVDRS) in 2002 and SCVDRS was one of the first states to start collecting surveillance data on violent deaths in 2003. SCVDRS uses information from law enforcement reports, death certificates, and coroner/medical examiner reports (including toxicology) to pool data on violent deaths and their circumstances into one anonymous database. The data provides contextual information on violent deaths such as mental health conditions, firearm details and toxicology results. This data helps prevention partners identify risk and protective factors, test prevention strategies and assure widespread adoption of successful approaches. To learn more about DHEC’s community violence intervention and prevention (CVIP) programing, visit the CVIP webpage.
Types of Violent Deaths
- Homicides
- Suicides
- Unintentional firearm injury deaths
- Injury deaths of undetermined intent
Sources of Data
- Death certificates
- Law enforcement
- Coroners
Data Elements Entered Into the System
- Circumstances preceding death such as:
- Mental health
- Physical health
- Relationship problems
- Toxicology (drugs or poison in the victim's system)
- Injury characteristics (e.g., how the victim died)
South Carolina State Unintentional Drug Overdose Reporting System (SCVDRS-SUDORS)
In response to the opioid epidemic, the CDC established the Overdose Data to Action States (OD2A-S) project and awarded funds to jurisdictions across the United States including South Carolina. OD2A-S allowed for the establishment of a drug overdose surveillance system in South Carolina called the State Unintentional Drug Overdose Reporting System (SUDORS). SUDORS collects and abstracts data for unintentional and undetermined intent drug overdose deaths from death certificates and medical examiner/coroner reports for entry into the web-based CDC platform shared with NVDRS. This deidentified data helps prevention partners understand the circumstance surrounding overdose deaths, improve overdose data timeliness and accuracy, and identify specific substances causing or contributing to death (CDC SUDORS, 2023).
Types of Overdose Deaths
- Unintentional
- Undetermined
Sources of Data
- Death certificates
- Coroners
Data Elements Entered Into the System
- How the overdose occurred
- Routes of administration (how the substance entered the decedent)
- Presence of bystanders
- Toxicology results
Pocket Guide Data Variables for Law Enforcement and Coroner Provider Staff
The pocket guide is a quick reference of circumstance and firearm variables collected by SCVDRS & SUDORS
SCVDRS – SUDORS Data Products
Homicide
Suicide
- Suicide and Self-inflicted Injuries in South Carolina
- Suicide Among Older Adults in South Carolina
- Youth Suicide in South Carolina
Firearms
Maps
- Homicide by South Carolina County of Injury
- Homicide by South Carolina County of Residence
- Suicide by South Carolina County of Injury
- Suicide by South Carolina County of Residence
- Residence States of Homicide Decedents in South Carolina
- Residence States of Suicide Decedents
SCVDRS – SUDORS Resources
- SCVDRS Evaluation Report
- SCVDRS Full Indicator List
- SCVDRS and SUDORS Pocket Guide
- SCVDRS Incident Form
Additional Resources
- National Violent Death Reporting System (CDC)
- State Unintentional Drug Overdose Reporting System (CDC)
- SCAN (South Carolina Data)
- WISQARS (Online Database)
Contact Information
SC Violent Death Reporting System and State Unintentional Drug Reporting System
SC Department of Health and Environmental Control
2100 Bull Street, SC 29201
SCVDRS@dhec.sc.gov