Overview of the Alaska Violent Death Reporting System Background

described independently by several organizations across the state. Although these data were of high quality, they were not integrated and provided only a limited view of the characteristics of violent deaths in Alaska. In 2003, Alaska became one of six states funded by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to implement the National Violent Death Report System (NVDRS) model that collates information into a centralized database to monitor the magnitude and characteristics of violent death at the national, state, and local levels. Currently, 19 states participate in NVDRS. NVDRS defines a violent death as a death resulting either from the intentional use of physical force or power against oneself, another person, or a group or community. NVDRS case definitions are coded on the basis of the Internationa