(Salt Lake City, UT) – Have you ever wondered whether your
town has more suicides than others? Or whether residents in your community are
in more motor vehicle crashes? Just check the Utah Department of Health's
(UDOH) new Violence and Injury Small Area report. The report summarizes data on
17 different injury-related topics by "small areas" across the state.
“Small areas” refers to a set of 62 geographic areas in Utah
with population sizes ranging from 20,000 to more than 100,000 persons. These
areas are especially useful for assessing health needs at the community level
and targeting programs to those at greatest risk for injury
.
This is the second Violence and Injury Small Area report
released by the UDOH in the last four years. Data from the first report were
used by local health officials to identify communities in greatest need of
limited resources. For example, in Utah County, two communities were identified
as having the highest hospitalization rates from falls for Utahns aged 65 and
older. As a result, the Utah County Health Department secured funding from the
UDOH and Mountainland Association of Governments to implement the Stepping On
program in these two high-risk communities. Stepping On is an evidence-based
program shown to reduce falls by 31%. Today, five counties (Davis, Salt Lake,
Tooele, Utah, and Wasatch) offer Stepping On to residents via
their local Health or Aging Services departments.
Findings from the report indicate that some injuries vary
widely within a local health district. For example, within the four small areas
that make up the Bear River Health District, the rate of emergency department visits from
suicide attempts varied from a low of 6.5 in Logan (ranked the 8th lowest in
the state) to a high of 27.0 in Brigham City (ranked the highest in the state)
per 10,000 persons. The state rate is 11.3 per 10,000 persons. As a result, the
Bear River Health Department has formed partnerships with community agencies to
educate citizens about mental health resources and decrease the stigma
surrounding mental health and suicide. Officials have also implemented a free,
evidence-based suicide prevention program called QPR (Question, Persuade,
Refer), which is designed to teach the warning signs of a suicide crisis and
how to respond.
“Utah has made tremendous strides in preventing injuries and
violence in our state over the last 30 years, but this report shows that
residents in some areas are still at higher risk than others,” said Trisha
Keller, Program Manager for the UDOH Violence and Injury Prevention Program.
The data are presented in tables, graphs, and maps to help
show differences across the state. The report includes maps of each health
district and its small areas to help the reader see where violence and injury
problems are concentrated.
The topics in the report include:
• Child injuries and fatalities
• Fall-related injuries and fatalities
• Firearm fatalities
• Self-reported seatbelt usage
• Motor vehicle crash injuries and fatalities
• Poisoning fatalities
• Suicide attempts and fatalities
• Traumatic brain injury hospitalizations
For a full copy of the Utah Violence and Injury Small Area
report, visit http://health.utah.gov/vipp.
