Vermont Priority Topic Investments
Click on any of the tabs below to learn more about each topic.
Vermont 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 Vermont.
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 Vermont there were:
190
overdose deaths
32.9
overdose deaths per 100,000 people (age-adjusted)
Source: NVSS – Drug Overdose Deaths
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Overdose Data to Action (OD2A)
Public Health and Public Safety
*average award amount |
Examples of How Vermont Is Working to Prevent Overdose
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Data to inform action
Vermont analyzed overdose and emergency medical services naloxone administration data to identify geographical increases in overdoses during the COVID-19 pandemic. Public health responders used this data to conduct enhanced overdose prevention outreach with local community partners, despite challenges faced during the pandemic. |
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PDMP data enhancements
Vermont enhanced the quality of its prescription drug monitoring program (PDMP) data by establishing capabilities to review data errors in real time, prompting pharmacies and clinicians to make corrections. Errors are typically resolved within a week; compliance reporting among all Vermont licensed pharmacies is regularly above 97%. |
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
Vermont 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 Vermont.
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 Vermont there were:
117
suicide deaths
17.8
suicide deaths per 100,000 people (age-adjusted)
Source: Suicide Rates by State (cdc.gov)
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Comprehensive Suicide Prevention
Emergency Department Surveillance of Nonfatal Suicide-Related Outcomes (ED-SNSRO)
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Vermont is preventing suicide with CDC Injury Center (NCIPC) funding by:
- Strengthening access and delivery of suicide care
- Creating protective environments
- Promoting connectedness
- Identifying and supporting people at risk
- Lessening harms and reducing future risk
- Supporting near real-time surveillance
Some groups have higher suicide rates than others. To address disparities, Vermont is focusing on:
- People ages 15-64 living in rural areas, with the subpopulations of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ), people with disabilities, and men.
This snapshot reflects suicide prevention priorities and activities under Year 1 funding of the Comprehensive Suicide Prevention (CSP) Program. This information is subject to change, as the CSP state recipients are now in Year 2 funding.
Examples of How Vermont Is Working to Prevent Suicide
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Addressing data quality issues
Vermont’s ED-SNSRO team engaged with hospital partners to address data quality issues to improve data sharing and knowledge around increased trends in suicidal ideation and suicidal behaviors. Vermont worked to improve the reporting of ICD-10-CM codes (administrative billing codes used for public health surveillance and healthcare reimbursement). Vermont also connected with emergency department (ED) staff from hospitals throughout the state to present hospital-specific factsheets, which included data trends by month, and demographics of suicide-related ED visits. |
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Publishing a data brief
The Vermont Department of Health (VDH) published a data brief (Trends in ED visits for Suicidal Ideation and Self-Directed Violence, 2017-2019) sharing monthly trends in suicide-related visits by several demographics, including sex, age group, and race and ethnicity, over a three-year period. The data brief looks at seasonal trends in the rate of visits by month. VDH disseminated the brief to over 40 partners via email. |
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 SurveillanceImproving 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.