Preventing Firearm Violence: A Public Health Imperative
Authors: American College of Physicians
Journal: Annals of Internal Medicine (1995)

Position Papers15 February 1995Preventing Firearm Violence: A Public Health ImperativeAmerican College of PhysiciansAmerican College of PhysiciansAuthor, Article, and Disclosure Informationhttps://doi.org/10.7326/0003-4819-122-4-199502150-00013 SectionsAboutFull TextPDF ToolsAdd to favoritesDownload CitationsTrack CitationsPermissions ShareFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditEmail Firearm-related injuries in the United States have reached epidemic proportions. The level of firearm morbidity and mortality sustained here is far higher than anywhere else in the industrialized world. More than 38 000 Americans died because of firearm-related injuries in 1991 [1]. More than half of all homicides and suicides are committed with firearms [2]. Firearms are the leading cause of death in black men 15 to 34 years of age and are surpassed only by motor vehicles as the leading cause of all U.S. injury-related deaths [2].Physicians and other health professionals have the opportunity to bring their knowledge ...References1. Fingerhut L, Jones C, Makuc D. Firearm and motor vehicle injury mortality—variations by State, race, and ethnicity: United States, 1990-91. Advance data from vital and health statistics; Hyattsville, Maryland: National Center for Health Statistics; 1994; No. 242. Google Scholar2. Fingerhut LA. Firearm mortality among children, youth and young adults 1-34 years of age, trends and current status: United States, 1985-90. Advance data from vital and health statistics; Hyattsville, Maryland: National Center for Health Statistics; 1993; No. 231. Google Scholar3. Novello AC, Shosky J, Froehlke R. From the Surgeon General, U.S. Public Health Service: a medical response to violence. JAMA. 1992; 267:3007. 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N Engl J Med. 1993; 329:1084-91. Google Scholar22. Saltzman LE, Mercy JA, O'Carroll PW, Rosenberg ML, Rhodes PH. Weapon involvement and injury outcomes in family and intimate assaults. JAMA. 1992; 267:3043-7. Google Scholar23. For the first time, a majority in U.S. favor ban on handguns. The Nation's Health. Washington, D.C.: American Public Health Association; Aug 1993. Google Scholar Author, Article, and Disclosure InformationAffiliations: This paper was authored by Bobbie Lewis, MA, and was developed for the 1993-1994 Health and Public Policy Committee: Gerald E. Thomson, MD, Chair; Whitney Addington, MD; Robert A. Berenson, MD; Christine K. Cassel, MD; Nancy E. Gary, MD; Sheldon Greenfield, MD; David J. Gullen, MD; Charles E. Harrison Jr., MD; L. Julian Haywood, MD; Ana Maria Lopez, MD; Ernest L. Mazzaferri, MD; Mack V. Traynor Jr., MD; and James R. Webster Jr., MD. Approved by the Board of Regents on 21 November 1993.Corresponding Author: Linda Johnson White, Director, American College of Physicians, Independence Mall West, Sixth Street at Race, Philadelphia, PA 19106-1572. PreviousarticleNextarticle Advertisement FiguresReferencesRelatedDetailsSee AlsoCelebrating the ACP Centennial: From the Annals Archive–Firearm-Related Harms Deborah Cotton Metrics Cited by#ThisIsOurLane: Incorporating Gun Violence Prevention into Clinical CareFirearm-Related Injury and Death in the United StatesE. Michael Lewiecki, MDPsychopathology and weapon choice: A study of 103 perpetrators of homicide or attempted homicideThe public health and social consequences of black male violenceA call to arms: the emergency physician, international perspectives on firearm injury prevention and the canadian gun control debateACEP Endorsement of the EAST Position Paper on Firearms ViolenceFirearm suicides and homicides in the United States: regional variations and patterns of gun ownershipVulnerability, victims and violence.A Population-based Study of Fatal and Nonfatal Firearm-related InjuriesPreventing firearm violenceA guide to the literature on aggressive behaviorInjury and illness experience in victims of violence, with particular reference to DATES syndrome 15 February 1995Volume 122, Issue 4Page: 311-313KeywordsAdolescentsAssaultChildrenFire safetyFirearm injuriesHomicideMorbidityMortalityPrevention, policy, and public healthSuicide ePublished: 15 August 2000 Issue Published: 15 February 1995 Copyright & PermissionsCopyright © 1995 by American College of Physicians. 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