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Mercer County Public Health Profile Report

Deaths due to Unintentional Poisoning: Deaths per 100,000 Population, 2020

  • Mercer
    33.7
    95% Confidence Interval (27.8 - 39.7)
    State
    32.1
    U.S.
    26.9
  • Mercer Compared to State

    gauge ranking
    Description of Gauge

    Description of the Gauge

    This graphic is based on the county data to the left. It compares the county value of this indicator to the state overall value.
    • Excellent = The county's value on this indicator is BETTER than the state value, and the difference IS statistically significant.
    • Watch = The county's value is BETTER than state value, but the difference IS NOT statistically significant.
    • Improvement Needed = The county's value on this indicator is WORSE than the state value, but the difference IS NOT statistically significant.
    • Reason for Concern = The county's value on this indicator is WORSE than the state value, and the difference IS statistically significant.

    The county value is considered statistically significantly different from the state value if the state value is outside the range of the county's 95% confidence interval. If the county's data or 95% confidence interval information is not available, a blank gauge image will be displayed with the message, "missing information."
    NOTE: The labels used on the gauge graphic are meant to describe the county's status in plain language. The placement of the gauge needle is based solely on the statistical difference between the county and state values. When selecting priority health issues to work on, a county should take into account additional factors such as how much improvement could be made, the U.S. value, the statistical stability of the county number, the severity of the health condition, and whether the difference is clinically significant.

Why Is This Important?

Every day in the U.S., an average of 240 people die as a result of unintentional poisoning and 4,900 others are treated in emergency departments (2020 data).[http://www.cdc.gov/injury/wisqars/index.html ^1^] Unintentional poisoning deaths in the United States increased nearly sevenfold between 2000 and 2020.[https://wonder.cdc.gov/ucd-icd10.html ^2^]

How Are We Doing?

In approximately 96% of unintentional poisoning deaths nationally and 97% in New Jersey, drugs are the poison. This includes unintentional overdose, wrong drug given or taken in error, drug taken inadvertently, and mistakes in the use of drugs in medical and surgical procedures. Not included are cases where the correct drug was properly administered but had an unforeseen adverse effect such as an allergic reaction. There are a handful of alcohol poisoning and carbon monoxide poisoning deaths each year and even fewer due to exposure to other noxious substances.

What Is Being Done?

The [https://nj.gov/humanservices/dmhas/home/ Division of Mental Health and Addiction Services] promotes the prevention and treatment of substance disorders and supports the recovery of individuals affected by substance use disorder (SUD). The 2013 [http://www.njleg.state.nj.us/2012/Bills/PL13/46_.HTM Overdose Prevention Act] (P.L. 2013, c.46) provides immunity from liability and professional discipline to health care professionals who prescribe, dispense, or administer naloxone (or any similarly acting and approved drug) in an emergency to an individual who the person believes is experiencing an opioid overdose. The Act also contains Good Samaritan provisions, which provide immunity from arrest and prosecution for drug possession to those non-health professional individuals who call 911 for suspected overdoses, and makes naloxone available to family members who could be taught to administer the drug in case of an emergency. The Health Commissioner expanded the scope of practice for Emergency Medical Technicians in 2014 to allow for the administration of [http://www.nj.gov/health/ems/ems-toolbox/ naloxone] in cases of life threatening opioid overdoses. The same year, the Governor established a program to train and equip police officers to administer naloxone. A 2015 law expanding the scope of the NJ Prescription Monitoring Program (NJPMP) requires all physicians and pharmacists practicing in NJ to register for access and mandates physicians to check the NJPMP when patients return for refills on opioid medications. A 2017 law ([http://www.njleg.state.nj.us/2016/Bills/PL17/28_.HTM P.L. 2017, c.28]) set a five-day limit on initial prescriptions for opioids (reduced from seven days) and mandates that insurance companies accept those facing drug addiction into treatment for up to six months and without the need for prior coverage authorization. In 2016, NJDOH was awarded a CDC grant for [https://www.cdc.gov/drugoverdose/foa/ddpi.html Prescription Drug Overdose: Data-Driven Prevention Initiative] (DDPI), with funding used to advance data collection and analysis, and to evaluate state-level actions that address opioid misuse, abuse, and overdose. The [https://www.state.nj.us/health/populationhealth/opioid/ NJ Overdose Data Dashboard] was developed under this project. In 2017, the NJDOH was awarded CDC funds for [https://www.cdc.gov/drugoverdose/foa/state-opioid-mm.html Enhanced State Opioid Overdose Surveillance] (ESOOS), which leveraged the existing National Violent Death Reporting System data platform to collect additional toxicology, situation, and death scene data on fatal overdoses. In 2019, these programs were folded into CDC's [https://www.cdc.gov/drugoverdose/od2a/index.html Overdose Data to Action] (OD2A), a cooperative agreement supporting 66 state, county, and local jurisdictions to use data to track and understand the complex nature of drug overdoses, and stresses data integration in developing and implementing effective overdose prevention programs. Since 2018, the Governor's Office has focused on inter-departmental strategies that include increasing access to treatment and harm-reduction resources, enhancing recovery support systems, implementing law enforcement strategies targeting the supply of illicit drugs, and strengthening systems and data infrastructure. In addition to NJDOH, other departments involved in these efforts include Department of Human Services, Department of Children and Families, Department of Labor, Office of the Attorney General, Division of Consumer Affairs, and Department of Corrections. Information on programs and policies implemented by state agencies or signed into law under this approach is included in [https://www-doh.state.nj.us/doh-shad/indicator/other_resources/PoisoningDth.html Other Resources] or as part of the [https://www-doh.state.nj.us/doh-shad/topic/SubstanceUse.html Substance Abuse Topic].

Healthy People Objective IVP-9.3:

Prevent an increase in the rate of poisoning deaths: Unintentional or undetermined intent among all persons
U.S. Target: 11.1 deaths per 100,000 population
State Target: is not comparable because it does not include poisoning deaths of undetermined intent

Note

** The number of deaths in Hunterdon County is too small to calculate a reliable rate.

Data Sources

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Health Statistics. Underlying Cause of Death File. CDC WONDER On-line Database accessed at [https://wonder.cdc.gov/Deaths-by-Underlying-Cause.html]   Death Certificate Database, Office of Vital Statistics and Registry, New Jersey Department of Health   Population Estimates, [https://www.nj.gov/labor/lpa/dmograph/est/est_index.html State Data Center], New Jersey Department of Labor and Workforce Development  

Measure Description for Deaths due to Unintentional Poisoning

Definition: Deaths with unintentional poisoning by and exposure to noxious substances as the underlying cause of death. '''''This includes, but is not limited to, opioids and other drugs.'''''[[br]] ICD-10 codes: X40-X49 (includes poisoning by legal and illegal drugs, alcohol, gases and vapors such as carbon monoxide and automobile exhaust, pesticides, and other chemicals and noxious substances)
Numerator: Number of deaths due to unintentional poisoning
Denominator: Total number of persons in the population

Indicator Profile Report

Age-Adjusted Death Rate due to Unintentional Poisoning (exits this report)

Date Content Last Updated

07/25/2022
The information provided above is from the Department of Health's NJSHAD web site (https://nj.gov/health/shad). The information published on this website may be reproduced without permission. Please use the following citation: " Retrieved Thu, 28 March 2024 16:39:14 from Department of Health, New Jersey State Health Assessment Data Web site: https://nj.gov/health/shad ".

Content updated: no date