Tag Archives: public health

05.17.13
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Firearm Injuries of Children and Adolescents in 2 Colorado Trauma Centers (2013)

TITLE: Firearm Injuries of Children and Adolescents in 2 Colorado Trauma Centers: 2000-2008 (2013).
SOURCE: Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA). 2013, 309(16):1683-1685. doi:10.1001/jama.2013.3354.
AUTHORS: Drs. Sauaia, Miller, Moore, & Partrick
LINK: http://jama.jamanetwork.com/article.aspx?articleid=1681402
BITLY STATS: http://bit.ly/148146m+

RESEARCH FOCUS: Childrens injury rates from guns.
FINDINGS:  (1) There is a real public health concern for children with access to guns. (2) firearm injures are more likely to result in a death or a treatment in the ICU than other injuries (50.4% of children injured with guns, 50.4% required intensive care, compared with 19.3% for other trauma-related injuries. Some 13.2% died, compared with the 1.7% injured in another way.)
NOTES: data includes period between two mass shootings in the Denver area — the 1999 one at Columbine High School and July’s mass shooting at a movie theater in Aurora.

04.12.13
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Responding to the Crisis of Firearm Violence in the US (2013)

TITLE: Responding to the Crisis of Firearm Violence in the United States
SOURCE: JAMA Intern Med. 2013;173(9):740. doi:10.1001/jamainternmed.2013.1292.
AUTHOR: Garen J. Wintemute, MD, MPH
URL: http://archinte.jamanetwork.com/article.aspx?articleid=1661391

FINDINGS/NOTES:

(1) Gun violence in the US is a public health problem: More than 30 000 people are purposely shot to death each year—more than 300 000 since the World Trade Center was destroyed in 2001. Rates of firearm-related violent crime have increased 26% since 2008.

(2) More research and researchers are needed: The government has abandoned its commitment to understanding the problem and devising evidence-based solutions. There’s almost no funding for firearm violence research, and there are almost no researchers.  There are no more than a dozen active, experienced investigators in the United States have focused their careers primarily on firearm violence. Only 2 are physicians. Only 1 has evaluated the effectiveness of an assault weapons ban.  No CDC researcher has done more than occasional work in this field in 15 years.

(3) Motor vehicle connection: In the 1960s, the nation recognized a fast-growing crisis related to motor vehicle traffic fatalities. We created an agency, led by internist-epidemiologist William Haddon, MD, to launch an aggressive research effort and recommend and implement evidence-based interventions. The motor vehicle industry waged what the Supreme Court called the “regulatory equivalent of war” against airbags, one of the most important of those interventions. On airbags and other matters, the industry lost; the public’s health and safety won

12.31.11
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Firearm Injuries in the U.S. (2011)

TITLE: Firearm Injuries in the United States (2011)
AUTHOR(S)/SOURCE: Firearm & Injury Center at Penn (University of Pennsylvania)
URL: http://www.uphs.upenn.edu/ficap/resourcebook/pdf/monograph.pdf
BITLY STATS: http://bit.ly/Irc4BD+

Screen shot 2013-05-17 at 6.50.08 PMFINDINGS: (1) Firearm injury in the United States has averaged 32,300 deaths annually between 1980 and 2007; (2) Firearms are involved in 67% of homicides, 50% of suicides, 43% of robberies, and 21% of aggravated assaults; (3) In 2008, there were 78,622 nonfatal firearm injuries in the United States, 73% of which were the result of interpersonal violence; (4) Homicides involving gangs (& OTHER ARGUMENTS) constitute a minority of gun homicides; and, (5) LOTS & LOTS MORE!

02.28.11
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Gun Utopias? Firearm Access & Ownership in Israel & Switzerland (2011)

TITLE: Gun Utopias? Firearm Access & Ownership in Israel & Switzerland (2011)
SOURCE: Journal of Public Health Policy (JPHP)
AUTHOR(S): Janet Rosenbaum
LINK: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3267868/

RESEARCH QUESTION: Gun advocates claim that mass-casualty events are mitigated & deterred with three policies: (1) permissive gun laws, (2) widespread gun ownership, (3) encouragement of armed civilians who can intercept shooters, & cite Switzerland & Israel as exemplars; is it true?

FINDINGS: Compared with the US, Switzerland & Israel have lower gun ownership & stricter gun laws, & their policies discourage personal gun ownership. The Swiss federal government requires gun permit applicants to demonstrate need for protection against a specific risk & pass weapons safety & firearm use regulation tests. Permit holders may own only one handgun for 6 months, after which they must renew their permit every 3 months. Israel rejects about 40% of gun permit applicants, more than any country in the western world. Israel requires all guns to have an Interior Ministry permit & an identifying mark for tracing, & limits which citizens may apply for a permit, based on their residence, occupation, or role in national defense. Applicants are excluded if they take psychotropic drugs or have been arrested for drug use or domestic violence (even if not convicted), & must also pass a Hebrew language test. Permit holders may own only one handgun & must renew their permit annually or whenever their residence, occupation, or national defense role changes. Switzerland gun owners report higher gun-violence victimization rates than non-gun owners. Israel only 81st out of 179 countries in rate of gun ownership. Only 2% of Swiss military members keep their gun post-service. Israel bans use of personal guns for terrorism or crime prevention.

IMAGES: Reason for owning gun, Switzerland v USA: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3267868/figure/F2/

Proportion of households with gun, Switzerland v USA: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3267868/figure/F1/

TAGS: Israel, Switzerland, Ownership rates, gun culture, myths, comparative policies, international

TWEETS: https://twitter.com/hospiceman/status/304656940154363904

09.17.07
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State homicide victimization rates & household gun ownership (2007)

TITLE: State homicide victimization rates in the US in relation to survey measures of household gun ownership (2007)
SOURCE: Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence
AUTHOR(S): Miller M, Hemenway D, Azrael D.
URL:  http://qa.bradycampaign.org/studies/view/105/

FINDINGS: Across states, more guns = more homicide, household firearms are a direct & indirect source of firearms used to kill Americans both in their homes & on their streets

07.17.04
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Firearm Availability & Homicide (2004)

TITLE: Firearm availability & homicide: A review of the literature (2004)
SOURCE: Aggression and Violent Behavior, 9(4), pp. 417-440.
AUTHOR(S): Lisa M. Hepburn ; David Hemenway
LINK: https://www.ncjrs.gov/App/publications/Abstract.aspx?id=206421
BITLY WEB STATS: https://bitly.com/16xod6A+

FINDINGS: (1) Where there are more guns there is more homicide; (2) males commit approximately 90% of all homicides & representing 75% of the victims; (3) households with firearms are at higher risk for homicide, particularly firearm homicide.

12.31.00
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Firearm Availability & Homicide Rates in 26 countries (2000)

TITLE: Firearm availability & homicide rates across 26 high-income countries (2000).
ABSTRACT: http://1.usa.gov/Ycl5EQ
http://jonathanstray.com/papers/FirearmAvailabilityVsHomicideRates.pdf
BITLY WEB STATS: http://bit.ly/11WxSlb+
AUTHOR(S): David Hemenway & Matthew Miller

FINDINGS: Nations offering easiest access to guns also have most gun violence. Among developed nations, the United States has the highest rate of civilian gun ownership, & the highest homicide rate. There’s a strong & statistically significant association between gun availability & homicide rates; where guns are more available, there are more homicides.

02.17.97
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Characteristics of automatic or semi-automatic firearm ownership (1997)

TITLE: Characteristics of automatic or semi-automatic firearm ownership (1997)
SOURCE: American Journal of Public Health (AJPH), 87(2): 286–288
AUTHOR(S): D Hemenway and E Richardson
LINK: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1380810/

FINDINGS: (1) Owners of semi-automatic guns are more likely to binge drink & live in the South than other gun owners; (2) 60% of gun owners reported owning an automatic or semiautomatic firearm

NOTE: Data collected from 800 random telephone surveys.