加州州立大学团队走访全州58县，摸清退伍军人自杀统计口径差异
位于加州洛杉矶县长滩市的加州州立大学长滩分校与加州退伍军人事务局合作的一项三年研究，已完成对全州58个县法医和医学检验官办公室的深入访谈。研究发现，各县认定退伍军人身份、记录死亡原因的方式各不相同，导致退伍军人自杀数字长期不够准确，团队正着手统一统计口径。,这项研究名为退伍军人自杀综合调查：身份认定与报告，2025年启动，为期三年，设在加州退伍军人健康倡议研究与监测团队之下，由加州退伍军人事务局出资499万多美元。项目负责人是加州州立大学长滩分校卫生信息学助理教授 Jeremy Ramirez，联合负责人 Gino Galvez，加州大学伯克利分校的研究人员参与合作。据美国退伍军人事务部数据，2024年全美有6,488名退伍军人死于自杀。,Ramirez 说，58个县都在追踪退伍军人死亡数据，但各县的做法有细微差别，团队要弄清这些差别如何汇总到州一级。访谈还发现，各县与当地原住民部落打交道、尊重部落安葬习俗的流程差异很大。,口径不统一的后果落在退伍军人家庭身上：一个人去世后若未被认定为退伍军人，可能错过覆盖国旗安葬、葬入退伍军人公墓等荣誉，其家属也可能错过本可申领的福利与服务。加州退伍军人事务局退伍军人服务副局长 Roberto Herrera 表示，这一合作让加州在提供最准确、全面的退伍军人自杀报告方面走在全国前列。,团队下一步将开展后续问卷并汇总分析，向项目顾问委员会提交最终结论与建议。2027年，研究将从县级做法转向审视州级系统，并与俄勒冈、亚利桑那、内华达和纽约等州的做法作比较。参与项目的长滩分校生物学三年级学生 Lilia Brack 已在校内学术研讨会上汇报了殡葬行业视角的发现。
CSU Team Interviews All 58 California Counties to Clarify Veteran Suicide Reporting
A three-year research project led by California State University, Long Beach, in partnership with the California Department of Veterans Affairs (CalVet), has completed in-depth interviews with coroner and medical examiner offices in all 58 California counties. The team found that counties identify veteran status and record causes of death in different ways, leaving veteran suicide figures unreliable, and is now working toward more consistent reporting.,The project, the Comprehensive Investigation into Veteran Suicide: Identification and Reporting, launched in 2025 and is housed in the California Veterans Health Initiative-Research and Surveillance Team. CalVet funds it with more than $4.99 million. Principal investigator Jeremy Ramirez is a CSULB assistant professor of health informatics; Gino Galvez is co-principal investigator, and UC Berkeley researchers are partners. According to the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, 6,488 veterans died by suicide nationwide in 2024.,Ramirez said all 58 counties track veteran mortalities, but each does it in a slightly different way, and the team is working to understand how those differences tie together at the state level. The interviews also explored how county offices work with local Tribal Nations and respect burial rituals, processes that vary widely.,The inconsistency has consequences for families: when a person's veteran status goes unidentified after death, they may miss honors such as burial with an American flag or in a veterans cemetery, and surviving family members may miss benefits and services they are eligible for. CalVet Deputy Secretary of Veterans Services Roberto Herrera said the partnership positions California as a national leader in accurate, comprehensive and actionable reporting on veteran suicides.,The team's next phase involves follow-up surveys and analysis, ahead of presenting final findings and recommendations to the project's advisory board. In 2027, the project will move from county practices to the state's systems as a whole, and compare California's approach with those of Oregon, Arizona, Nevada and New York. Lilia Brack, a third-year CSULB biology student on the project, has presented findings on mortuary and funeral home perspectives at campus research symposia.
来源：加州州立大学
发布：GSM·美国（发布链接）
图片来源：图：加州州立大学长滩分校 Walter Pyramid。Summum 摄，CC BY-SA 2.5，经 Wikimedia Commons。 / Photo: The Walter Pyramid at California State University, Long Beach. By Summum, CC BY-SA 2.5, via Wikimedia Commons.
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