Gun Violence and Public Health

For the first time, the U.S. Surgeon General has issued an advisory officially recognizing firearm violence as a critical public health crisis.
The report outlines the devastating health impacts of firearm violence across the country. The advisory notes that while firearm violence is still near record high rates, it’s been particularly deadly among children and adolescents. Since 2020, firearm-related injuries have been the leading cause of death for youth ages 1-19, surpassing motor vehicle crashes, cancer, and drug overdose and poisoning.

These interactive panels allow users to explore how gun violence has grown across the United States and become the leading cause of death for children and adolescents.

Gun violence is a leading cause of premature death in the U.S. Guns kill more than 38,000 people and cause nearly 85,000 injuries each year. As a longtime advocate for violence prevention policies, APHA recognizes a comprehensive public health approach to addressing this growing crisis is necessary.

Your go-to spot for data, maps, graphs, congressional reports, and other reports on gun violence in the United States.

American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry

American Psychological Association. (2013, December 1). Gun violence: Prediction, prevention, and policy. https://www.apa.org/pubs/reports/gun-violence-prevention

Lillvis D, White J, Cooper M, DiCecca J, Bass K.J Pediatr Surg. 2022 Jan;57(1):130-134. doi: 10.1016/j.jpedsurg.2021.09.011. Epub 2021 Sep 20.PMID: 34686378

O'Neill KM, Shultz BN, Lye CT, Ranney ML, D'Onofrio G, Coupet E.J Law Med Ethics. 2020 Dec;48(4_suppl):55-66. doi: 10.1177/1073110520979402.PMID: 33404322

Sanchez L, Young VB, Baker M.J Emerg Nurs. 2018 Nov;44(6):598-604. doi: 10.1016/j.jen.2018.07.002. Epub 2018 Aug 27.PMID: 30166117

Goolsby C, Strauss-Riggs K, Rozenfeld M, Charlton N, Goralnick E, Peleg K, Levy MJ, Davis T, Hurst N.Am J Public Health. 2019 Feb;109(2):236-241. doi: 10.2105/AJPH.2018.304773. Epub 2018 Dec 20.PMID: 30571311

Campbell BT, Kuhls DA, Talley CL, Bulger EM, Stewart RM.J Am Coll Surg. 2021 Sep;233(3):331-336. doi: 10.1016/j.jamcollsurg.2021.05.024. Epub 2021 Jul 22.PMID: 34303834

Ventzke MM, Segitz O.Unfallchirurg. 2020 Jun;123(6):435-442. doi: 10.1007/s00113-019-00716-2.PMID: 31538205 Review. German.

Berkowitz MR.Am J Disaster Med. 2012 Summer;7(3):189-98. doi: 10.5055/ajdm.2012.0094.PMID: 23140062

Hall RC, Friedman SH.Mayo Clin Proc. 2013 Nov;88(11):1272-83. doi: 10.1016/j.mayocp.2013.08.016. Epub 2013 Oct 16.PMID: 24138962

Sloan IH, Rozensky RH, Kaplan L, Saunders SM.J Trauma Stress. 1994 Oct;7(4):565-74. doi: 10.1007/BF02103007.PMID: 7820349

Somers GT, Drinkwater EJ, Torcello N.Aust Fam Physician. 1997 Dec;26(12):1406-9.PMID: 9470295

Ojo A, Guntuku SC, Zheng M, Beidas RS, Ranney ML.JMIR Public Health Surveill. 2021 Jan 6;7(1):e24562. doi: 10.2196/24562.PMID: 33315578 Free PMC article.

Ng-Kamstra, J. S., & Lajoie, J. (2020). Canadian Doctors for Protection from Guns: how physicians contributed to policy change. Injury prevention : journal of the International Society for Child and Adolescent Injury Prevention, 26(5), 499–501. https://doi.org/10.1136/injuryprev-2020-043852

Tolat, N. D., Naik-Mathuria, B. J., & McGuire, A. L. (2020). Physician Involvement in Promoting Gun Safety. Annals of family medicine, 18(3), 262–264. https://doi.org/10.1370/afm.2516

Goldstein, E. V., Prater, L. C., Bose-Brill, S., & Wickizer, T. M. (2020). The Firearm Suicide Crisis: Physicians Can Make a Difference. Annals of family medicine, 18(3), 265–268. https://doi.org/10.1370/afm.2522

Silver, A. H., Andrews, A. L., Azzarone, G., Bhansali, P., Hjelmseth, E., Hogan, A. H., O'Connor, K. M., Romo, N., & Parikh, K. (2020). Engagement and Leadership in Firearm-Related Violence Prevention: The Role of the Pediatric Hospitalist. Hospital pediatrics, 10(6), 523–530. https://doi.org/10.1542/hpeds.2019-0327

Frattaroli, S., Hoops, K., Irvin, N. A., McCourt, A., Nestadt, P. S., Omaki, E., Shields, W. C., & Wilcox, H. C. (2019). Assessment of Physician Self-reported Knowledge and Use of Maryland's Extreme Risk Protection Order Law. JAMA network open, 2(12), e1918037. https://doi.org/10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2019.18037

Gastineau, K., & Andrews, A. L. (2020). Pediatric Hospitalists at the Front Line of Gun Violence Prevention: Every Patient Encounter Is an Opportunity to Promote Safe Gun Storage. Hospital pediatrics, 10(1), 98–100. https://doi.org/10.1542/hpeds.2019-0278

Hagen, M. G., Carew, B., Crandall, M., & Zaidi, Z. (2019). Patients and Guns: Florida Physicians Are Not Asking. Southern medical journal, 112(11), 581–585. https://doi.org/10.14423/SMJ.0000000000001035

Doolittle D. (2019). Q&A: El Paso Surgeon On-Call During Mass Shooting Response. Texas medicine, 115(10), 6–7.

Cassel, C. K., Nelson, E. A., Smith, T. W., Schwab, C. W., Barlow, B., & Gary, N. E. (1998). Internists' and surgeons' attitudes toward guns and firearm injury prevention. Annals of internal medicine, 128(3), 224–230. https://doi.org/10.7326/0003-4819-128-3-199802010-00009

Borowsky, I. W., & Ireland, M. (1999). National survey of pediatricians' violence prevention counseling. Archives of pediatrics & adolescent medicine, 153(11), 1170–1176. https://doi.org/10.1001/archpedi.153.11.1170

Paola F. A. (2001). Physicians, firearm counseling, and legal liability. Southern medical journal, 94(1), 88–92.

Dresang L. T. (2001). Gun deaths in rural and urban settings: recommendations for prevention. The Journal of the American Board of Family Practice, 14(2), 107–115.

Olson, L. M., Christoffel, K. K., & O'Connor, K. G. (2007). Pediatricians' involvement in gun injury prevention. Injury prevention : journal of the International Society for Child and Adolescent Injury Prevention, 13(2), 99–104. https://doi.org/10.1136/ip.2006.012401

Finch, S. A., Weiley, V., Ip, E. H., & Barkin, S. (2008). Impact of pediatricians' perceived self-efficacy and confidence on violence prevention counseling: a national study. Maternal and child health journal, 12(1), 75–82. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10995-007-0223-2

Pinto A. D. (2008). Engaging health professionals in advocacy against gun violence. Medicine, conflict, and survival, 24(4), 285–295. https://doi.org/10.1080/13623690802374197

Kellermann, A. L., & Rivara, F. P. (2013). Silencing the science on gun research. JAMA, 309(6), 549–550. https://doi.org/10.1001/jama.2012.208207

Stein K. F. (2013). An unanticipated journey: barriers to effective gun control in the United States. Journal of the American Psychiatric Nurses Association, 19(1), 8–9. https://doi.org/10.1177/1078390313476852

McCarthy M. (2013). Medical groups voice doubts over changes to gun background checks. BMJ (Clinical research ed.), 346, f3941. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.f3941

Hall, R. C., & Friedman, S. H. (2013). Guns, schools, and mental illness: potential concerns for physicians and mental health professionals. Mayo Clinic proceedings, 88(11), 1272–1283. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.mayocp.2013.08.016

Butkus, R., & Weissman, A. (2014). Internists' attitudes toward prevention of firearm injury. Annals of internal medicine, 160(12), 821–827. https://doi.org/10.7326/M13-1960

Jena, A. B., & Prasad, V. (2014). Primary care physicians' role in counseling about gun safety. American family physician, 90(9), 619–620.

Puttagunta, R., Coverdale, T. R., & Coverdale, J. (2016). What is Taught on Firearm Safety in Undergraduate, Graduate, and Continuing Medical Education? A Review of Educational Programs. Academic psychiatry : the journal of the American Association of Directors of Psychiatric Residency Training and the Association for Academic Psychiatry, 40(5), 821–824. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40596-016-0490-6

Hemenway, D., & Nolan, E. P. (2017). The scientific agreement on firearm issues. Injury prevention : journal of the International Society for Child and Adolescent Injury Prevention, 23(4), 221–225. https://doi.org/10.1136/injuryprev-2016-042146

Laughlin, M. D., Belmont, P. J., Jr, Lanier, P. J., Bader, J. O., Waterman, B. R., & Schoenfeld, A. J. (2017). Occupational outcomes following combat-related gunshot injury: Cohort study. International journal of surgery (London, England), 48, 286–290. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijsu.2017.11.037

Damari, N. D., Ahluwalia, K. S., Viera, A. J., & Goldstein, A. O. (2018). Continuing Medical Education and Firearm Violence Counseling. AMA journal of ethics, 20(1), 56–68. https://doi.org/10.1001/journalofethics.2018.20.1.stas1-1801

Gerstein, N. S., Sanders, J. C., McCunn, M., Brierley, J. K., Gerstein, W. H., West, S. D., Tawil, I., Kraai, E. P., Boyd, N. H., Bronshteyn, Y. S., Torgeson, E. L., & Schulman, P. M. (2018). The Gun Violence Epidemic: Time for Perioperative Physicians to Act. Journal of cardiothoracic and vascular anesthesia, 32(3), 1097–1100. https://doi.org/10.1053/j.jvca.2018.03.002

Mannenbach, M. S., Fahje, C. J., Sunga, K. L., & Sztajnkrycer, M. D. (2019). An In Situ Simulation-Based Training Approach to Active Shooter Response in the Emergency Department. Disaster medicine and public health preparedness, 13(2), 345–352. https://doi.org/10.1017/dmp.2018.39

Peetz, A. B., & Haider, A. (2018). Gun Violence Research and the Profession of Trauma Surgery. AMA journal of ethics, 20(5), 475–482. https://doi.org/10.1001/journalofethics.2018.20.5.msoc1-1805

Boland, L. L., Kinzy, T. G., Myers, R. N., Fernstrom, K. M., Kamrud, J. W., Mink, P. J., & Stevens, A. C. (2018). Burnout and Exposure to Critical Incidents in a Cohort of Emergency Medical Services Workers from Minnesota. The western journal of emergency medicine, 19(6), 987–995. https://doi.org/10.5811/westjem.8.39034

Owens B. (2019). Gun violence is an epidemic and "we solve epidemics with medicine, not politics". CMAJ : Canadian Medical Association journal = journal de l'Association medicale canadienne, 191(2), E59–E60. https://doi.org/10.1503/cmaj.109-5700

Schuur, J. D., Decker, H., & Baker, O. (2019). Association of Physician Organization-Affiliated Political Action Committee Contributions With US House of Representatives and Senate Candidates' Stances on Firearm Regulation. JAMA network open, 2(2), e187831. https://doi.org/10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2018.7831

Morokuma, N., & Chiu, C. H. (2019). Trends and Characteristics of Security Incidents Involving Aid Workers in Health Care Settings: A 20-Year Review. Prehospital and disaster medicine, 34(3), 265–273. https://doi.org/10.1017/S1049023X19004333

Pallin, R., Charbonneau, A., Wintemute, G. J., & Kravitz-Wirtz, N. (2019). California Public Opinion On Health Professionals Talking With Patients About Firearms. Health affairs (Project Hope), 38(10), 1744–1751. https://doi.org/10.1377/hlthaff.2019.00602

Gondi, S., Pomerantz, A. G., & Sacks, C. A. (2019). Extreme Risk Protection Orders: An Opportunity to Improve Gun Violence Prevention Training. Academic medicine : journal of the Association of American Medical Colleges, 94(11), 1649–1653. https://doi.org/10.1097/ACM.0000000000002935

McKenzie, N., Wishner, C., Sexton, M., Saevig, D., Fink, B., & Rega, P. (2020). Active Shooter: What Would Health Care Students Do While Caring for Their Patients? Run? Hide? Or Fight?. Disaster medicine and public health preparedness, 14(2), 173–177. https://doi.org/10.1017/dmp.2019.67