AER18 Panel I: Gun Violence and Public Health: Facts, Fiction, and the Future

 

Moderator: Cynthia Gómez, PhD; Professor Emerita & Founding Director, Health Equity Institute, San Francisco State University
Speakers:
Patrick Carter, MD; Assistant Director, University of Michigan Injury Prevention Center; Assistant Professor, Department of Emergency Medicine
Harold Cox, MSSW; Associate Dean for Public Health Practice; Associate Professor of Community Health Sciences, Boston University School of Public Health
Zoe Grover, JD; Executive Director, Stop Handgun Violence

Gun violence, particularly mass shootings, captures the headlines on a regular basis. But, gun violence is much broader than these specific incidents; on average, 96 people are shot and killed each day in the United States. This is an epidemic. Other epidemics, such as smoking related deaths and car crashes, have been studied using a public health approach; this has then informed prevention and treatment strategies and policy change. Gun violence requires this same approach. During this session, the extent of this epidemic and the laws that affect the ability to do research into prevention and treatment strategies will be explained; the state of current evidence will be reviewed and research that could inform policy will be discussed; and challenges to policy change and suggestions for next steps will be identified.