Firearm injuries and death
A United States epidemic with public health solutions
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 19592778 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Kristen L Mueller (0000-0001-9799-0861, Washington University in St. Louis, corresponding author), Nakita Lovelady (0000-0002-3614-1599, University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, corresponding author), Nakita N Lovelady, Megan L Ranney (0000-0002-8450-9642, Brown University, corresponding author) |
| Editors | Julia Robinson (0000-0003-0719-3995) |
| Year | 2023 |
| Volume | 3 |
| Issue | 5 |
| Pages | e0001913 |
| Publication date | 2023-05-24 |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | PLOS Global Public Health (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 2767-3375 • E-ISSN: 2767-3375 |
| Publisher | Public Library of Science (PLoS) (PUBLISHER) |
| DOI | 10.1371/journal.pgph.0001913 |
| PMID | 37224135 |
| OpenAlex | W4377970635 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 4 |
| References cited | 8 |
Firearm injuries and death are an eminently preventable public health epidemic in the United States (U.S.). Globally, for the last several decades, U.S. firearm homicide rates far outpaced those of other high-income countries, with more than 45,000 people killed by firearms in the U.S. in 2020 alone-greater than in any previous year on record U.S. children are 11 times more likely to die of a firearm injury than children in other high-income countries [3], and firearm injury is the leading cause of death for Americans age 1-19 (largely due to homicide) This epidemic also has a disproportionate impact on people who are Black, Indigenous and/or people of color (BIPOC), especially in socially vulnerable, underserved communities. Firearm homicide is the leading cause of death for Black males 15-34 years old, and Black men are 10-20 times more likely to be killed by a gun than White men [1]. American Indian and Alaskan Native men are 3-4 times more likely to die by firearm suicide than White men [2]. Despite the growing frequency of school shootings and public mass shootings in the U.S, mass shootings in schools and other public spaces make up a minority of U.S. firearm injuries and deaths [1]. Instead, most U.S. firearm deaths are homicide and suicide. Indeed, firearms are the most common mechanism by which U.S. adults and children die from suicide, with approximately 53% of suicide deaths resulting from firearms in 2021 [1]. Firearms are also the most common mechanism of homicide, causing 80% of U.S. homicide deaths in 2021 [1]. Intimate partner homicide is most frequently completed with firearms in the U.S. [2]. Most nonfatal firearm injuries are due to assault [1]
Environmental health · Injury prevention · Medical emergency · Occupational safety and health · Poison control · Political science · Public health · Suicide prevention · Gun Ownership and Violence Research · Law · Medicine · Nursing · Suicide and Self-Harm Studies · Traumatic Ocular and Foreign Body Injuries
| Citations per year | 2 |
|---|---|
| Citation span | 2024 - 2026 (3) |
| Highly cited | No |