Misclassification of veteran status on Washington state death certificates for suicides from 1999 to 2008

摘要

Suicide surveillance, prioritized in the 2012 National Strategy for Suicide Prevention, is imperative to accurately establish the magnitude of this problem overall and within specific populations; to identify emerging high-risk subgroups for targeted services, interventions, and research efforts; and to track trends and evaluate the impact of prevention initiatives. In the United States, National Death Index records can be used to track suicides, but are routinely delayed by 18 to 24 months. The National Violent Death Reporting System also tracks suicides, but it too has a reporting delay and, as of 2010, only captures 18 states. Both systems are based on state death certificates.