An Exploration of Human Services System Contacts Prior to Suicide in South Carolina: an Expansion of the South Carolina Violent Death Reporting System

Year 2004 suicide data from the South Carolina Violent Death Reporting System were linked to South Carolina Uniform Billing codes from hospital inpatient & emergency room billing records, State Dpartment of Mental Healthh service records, & criminal justice databases. Results shows the positive benefits of partnerships created through the South Carolina Violent Death Reporting System, illustrate how this system & human services databases may augument each other, & suggest practitioners should explore implementation of prevention programs in specific settings. (3 refs.)