@article{ref1,
title="Fatal Firearm-Related Injury Surveillance in Maryland",
journal="American journal of preventive medicine",
year="1998",
author="Wiersema, Brian and Loftin, Colin and Daub, Erich M. and Sheppard, Monique A. and Smialek, John E. and McDowall, David",
volume="15",
number="3S",
pages="46-56",
abstract="Context: Maryland began a statewide firearm-related injury surveillance system in 1995. The system now focuses on firearm-related deaths; a system to monitor nonfatal injuries is being developed. The system is passive; it accesses, integrates, and analyzes data collected by Maryland's Office of the Chief Medical Examiner, Maryland State Police, and Division of Health Statistics.OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the surveillance system ºs ability to ascertain cases in the absence of a standard for the true number of cases.Design: Link records of the same firearm-related death captured by the surveillance system's multiple data sources, comparing the rate of false positives and false negatives, and assessing errors in linkage variables.Setting: Maryland, 1991-1994.Participants: All deaths occurring in the state of Maryland as a result of a firearm-related injury.Main Outcome Measures: Sensitivity and positive predictive value.RESULTS: The system is extremely sensitive, detecting 99.61% of cases, and it has a very high positive predictive value, with 99.87% of the cases identified from medical examiner's office data being confirmed as actual cases.CONCLUSIONS: Maryland's database of information from the medical examiner's office is highly accurate for ascertaining firearm-related deaths that occur in the state. A unique identifier common across data sources would ease record linkage efforts, and improve the system's ability to monitor firearm-related deaths. (Abstract Adapted from Source: American Journal of Preventive Medicine, 1998. Copyright © 1998 by Elsevier Science)Firearms InjurySurveillance SystemData CollectionStatistical DataFirearms ViolencePublic Health ApproachMarylandFirearms DeathFirearms HomicideDeath RatesHomicide Rates03-02<p />",
language="en",
issn="0749-3797",
doi="",
url="http://dx.doi.org/"
}