Delaware Priority Topic Investments

Click on any of the tabs below to learn more about each topic.

Overdose
Suicide

Delaware Overdose Investment Snapshot

Combatting the current overdose crisis is a priority for the agency. This page provides an overview of the FY21 CDC Injury Center (NCIPC) overdose investments for the state of Delaware.

There were 91,799 drug overdose deaths in the United States in 2020 (28.3 deaths per 100,000 standard population), a stark 30% increase from 2019. Approximately 75% of drug overdose deaths in 2020 involved an opioid, with synthetic opioids (e.g., illicitly manufactured fentanyls) accounting for more than 80% of all opioid-involved deaths. Drug overdose deaths involving synthetic opioids increased by 55% and deaths involving psychostimulants (e.g., methamphetamine) increased by 47% from 2019 to 2020. Drug overdose deaths involving cocaine also increased by 22%.

In 2020 in Delaware there were:

444

overdose deaths

47.3

overdose deaths per 100,000 people (age-adjusted)

Source: NVSS – Drug Overdose Deaths

Overdose Funding At A Glance

Overdose Funding At A Glance
$4,918,968 FY21 Delaware Total Overdose Prevention Funding	FY21 Awards Overdose Data to Action (OD2A) Delaware State Award: $4,844,468 Public Health and Public Safety Overdose Response Strategy: $74,500* *average award amount

Examples of How Delaware Is Working to Prevent Overdose

overdose strategies
	Community response teams Delaware established Community Response Teams with members from high-risk communities. In 2020, teams activated during heightened risks of overdose during the COVID-19 pandemic and distributed nearly 1,200 naloxone kits during 30 outdoor or car-side events, held in treatment center parking lots, flu clinics, and food banks.
	Non-opioid pain management approaches Delaware created and distributed non-opioid pain management toolkits to healthcare providers. These kits contained comprehensive, evidence-based, non-opioid pain management resources. Residents also have access to a free chronic pain self-management class, providing group education and support for people experiencing chronic pain.

CDC Overdose Prevention Strategies

CDC’s Injury Center plays a critical role in addressing the drug overdose epidemic by driving progress in the five strategic priorities that guide CDC’s response framework for preventing overdoses.

Additional Resources

Delaware Suicide Prevention Investment Snapshot

Preventing suicide is a priority for the agency. This page provides an overview of the FY21 CDC Injury Center (NCIPC) suicide prevention investments for the state of Delaware.

Suicide is a leading cause of death in the United States. It was responsible for almost 46,000 deaths in 2020, which is about one death every 11 minutes. The number of people who think about or attempt suicide is even higher. In 2020, 12.2 million American adults seriously thought about suicide, 3.2 million planned a suicide attempt, and 1.2 million attempted suicide.

In 2020 in Delaware there were:

124

suicide deaths

12.1

suicide deaths per 100,000 people (age-adjusted)

Source: Suicide Rates by State (cdc.gov)

Suicide Prevention Funding At A Glance

Suicide Funding At A Glance
$23,826 FY21 Delaware Total Suicide Prevention Funding	FY21 Awards Veteran Suicide Prevention Objective Zero Foundation: $23,826

Examples of How Delaware Is Working to Prevent Suicide

suicide strategies
	Expanding evaluation Delaware’s Objective Zero Foundation has gained the capacity to conduct outcome evaluation in addition to the formative and program evaluation capacity-building from prior rounds of the program. In doing so, they will be able to build and sustain evaluation through the entire lifecycle of their work from concept development, implementation, and identifying if the work is successful in meeting immediate needs to increase protective factors and reduce risk factors—all of which set the foundation for a long-term reduction in Veteran suicide. Objective Zero Foundation is also including capacity building in disseminating the evidence to build best practices for the field.

CDC Suicide Prevention Strategies

Suicide is preventable and there is no single cause, so prevention requires addressing the multiple factors linked to suicide at the individual, relationship, community, and societal levels. As such, CDC is leading a comprehensive approach to suicide prevention. Such an approach aims to prevent people from becoming suicidal in the first place and support people at increased risk. CDC uses data to track and monitor suicide trends, research possible risks and what works to prevent them, and help communities put proven suicide prevention strategies into place.

CDC’s Suicide Prevention Resource for Action outlines seven strategies that are based on the best available evidence to help communities and states focus on prevention activities with the greatest potential to prevent suicide.

Strengthen economic supports
Create protective environments
Improve access and delivery of suicide care
Promote healthy connections
Teach coping and problem-solving skills
Identify and support people at risk
Lessen harms and prevent future risk

Near Real-Time Surveillance
Improving surveillance – collecting better and more timely data is also an important strategy to better understand, monitor, and prevent suicide and suicidal behavior. Expanding surveillance of nonfatal suicide-related outcomes (e.g., suicide attempts, suicide ideation) can help improve timeliness of data, identify spikes, and inform prevention and response.