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Drug Overdose Deaths

Sections in the dashboard

OverviewDeaths Investigation AlertsSUDORSDeath Certificates

Overview

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Delaware had the fifth highest rate of drug overdose deaths in the United States in 2021.

This dashboard includes measures and insights from three data systems that monitor drug overdose deaths in Delaware.

  • Death Investigation Alerts (DIAs) from the Division of Forensic Science (DFS) provide an early warning system from Forensic Investigator reports to report suspected drug overdose deaths. These data are shown in the Deaths Investigation Alerts section to provide up-to-date, monthly trends with potentially alarming shifts in drug overdose death counts. 
  • State Unintentional Drug Overdose Reporting System (SUDORS) provides details about drug overdose deaths, such as geography, sex, race, ethnicity, age groups, occupation, toxicology, medical history, institutional history, and circumstances at the time of death. These data are available on the SUDORS section of this dashboard.
  • Delaware Vital Events Registration System (DelVRS) provides death certificate data in the Death Certificates section of this data dashboard to view longer-time trends in drug overdose deaths for select demographic groups for Delaware residents.
Substance Use Disorder Support

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Substance Use Disorder Support

Treatment Providers and Naloxone Distribution Centers

Please see the Help is Here - Treatment & Recovery website to learn where treatment centers are located.

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Key Data & Reports

Drug Overdose Deaths in Delaware

Data are current as of 11/1/2024

Most recent dashboard update: 5/29/2024

Here, we highlight one key statistic from each tab. Click a table row to see more detailed data for the statistic.

Table Key
Data System
Indicator

Delaware

% Change
Trendline
Deaths Investigation Alerts

Suspected Drug Overdose Deaths

monthly number of people

28

(November 2024)
Decreased 18%(November 2023 to November 2024)
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SUDORS

Drug Overdose Deaths (Drug Type: Any Opioid)

monthly number of people

35

(June 2023)
Decreased 22%(June 2022 to June 2023)
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Death Certificates

Drug Overdose Death Rate

age-adjusted rate per 100,000 residents

54.1

(2021)
Increased 69%(2016 to 2021)
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Additional Information

Drug Overdose Deaths in Delaware

Resources

Help is Here Delaware

Prevention, Addiction, Treatment, and Recovery resources for Delaware

NSC Memorial Site

Memorial map to overdose decedents

Delaware Behavioral Health Consortium Three-Year Action Plan [pdf]

Healthy Homes Prescription Drop Off Locations

All permanent prescription drop-off locations in Delaware

Where to obtain naloxone

National Map of Naloxone Locations

Delaware Division of Substance Abuse and Mental Health

The Delaware Division of Substance Abuse and Mental Health (DSAMH) is located in the Department of Health and Social Services (DHSS). DSAMH serves the adult (age 18 and older) population in need of publicly funded behavioral health services. DSAMH is organized into three operating units. These are the Delaware Psychiatric Center (DPC) and a variety of community-based Mental Health and Substance Abuse Treatment Programs.

Data Sources

Mortality

Citation: Delaware Department of Health and Social Services, Division of Public Health, Delaware Health Statistics Center.

View or download this dataset
State Unintentional Drug Overdose Reporting System

Citation: Delaware Department of Health and Social Services, Division of Public Health, State Unintentional Drug Overdose Reporting System (SUDORS), 2018-2023.

View or download this dataset
Suspected Delaware Drug Overdose Deaths

Citation: Delaware Department of Safety and Homeland Security, Division of Forensic Science, https://forensics.delaware.gov/about/index.shtml?dc=aboutUs

View or download this dataset

Privacy

In releasing this information, Delaware aims to provide information that can be helpful to local communities as they work to improve public health. However, the protection of the confidentiality of our citizens is of paramount importance. To that end, counts of less than 11 are not presented. An outside expert has reviewed the platform to ensure it complies with the HIPAA privacy rule (45 CFR 164.§514(b)).

Sections in the dashboard

OverviewDeaths Investigation AlertsSUDORSDeath Certificates