Firearm Injury Surveillance Study, 1993-2012

These data were collected using the National Electronic
Injury Surveillance System (NEISS), the primary data system of the
United States Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC). CPSC began
operating NEISS in 1972 to monitor product-related injuries treated in
United States hospital emergency departments (EDs). In June 1992, the
National Center for Injury Prevention and Control (NCIPC), within the
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, established an interagency
agreement with CPSC to begin collecting data on nonfatal
firearm-related injuries in order to monitor the incidents and the
characteristics of persons with nonfatal firearm-related injuries
treated in United States hospital EDs over time. This dataset
represents all nonfatal firearm-related injuries (i.e., injuries
associated with powder-charged guns) and all nonfatal BB and pellet
gun-related injuries reported through NEISS from 1993 through
2012. The cases consist of initial ED visits for treatment of the
injuries. Cases were reported even if the patients subsequently died.
Secondary visits and transfers from other hospitals were excluded.
Information is available on injury diagnosis, firearm type, use of
drugs or alcohol, criminal incident, and locale of the
incident. Demographic information includes age, sex, and race of the
injured person.