Gun violence is a health crisis
Uvalde. Buffalo. Parkland. Newtown. Four communities forever changed by gun violence. Four communities representing a small fraction of gun violence in the United States, where more than 100 people are killed by guns every day. Four communities among the many that deserve action.
Gun violence in the United States is a public health crisis.
I witnessed first-hand the consequences of this crisis a decade ago when my community in Western Connecticut was shaken to its core by a senseless attack that took the lives of 20 young students and six educators at Sandy Hook Elementary School. Like so many others, I waited to see widespread action that would prevent this terrible tragedy from repeating itself. I was disappointed.
Now, it is time for the medical community and public officials around the country to take urgent action to address gun violence as the public health crisis it is.
There is no single solution to America’s gun violence problem. To truly address this crisis, we need to look at its many causes, finding both big and small solutions that work together to create meaningful change.
Imagine if we addressed gun violence with the same level of urgency as COVID-19. We could bring together public officials, leaders in the medical and business communities, educators, and community and advocacy organizations to create a comprehensive plan to stop gun violence.
This work must start at the highest levels of government, with gun violence prevention. We cannot once again stand by without taking action to prevent the tragic event in Uvalde from repeating itself, like we did with Sandy Hook. As of 2017, gun violence officially replaced car accidents as the leading cause of death in children and adolescents. I call on Congress to take immediate action on violence prevention/gun reform. We owe it to the survivors and grieving families of gun violence to stop this terrible cycle.
As with any public health crisis, we need to invest in comprehensive research to examine the problem, identify root causes, and create a plan for treating and preventing it. I am heartened that last year, CDC director Dr. Rochelle Walensky reinforced the agency’s focus on researching gun violence as a matter of public health.
As we focus on prevention, we must also acknowledge the impact of these tragedies on our individual and collective mental health, especially for children and adolescents. Just as students learn and practice how to react if a shooter enters their school, they should be encouraged to talk about these experiences with a trained professional. Health care providers should work with their partners in education to create these programs. At the same time, it is essential we take action to increase access to behavioral health care, so everyone — whether it’s a survivor, a loved one, or an individual affected by news coverage — has ongoing access to the support they need.
Health care providers have a responsibility to support this crucial work, which will save lives and make the communities we serve healthier, safer places for our patients, neighbors and families. Our hospitals and medical practices are deeply rooted in the communities we serve. We can leverage this connection to assist with research around gun violence, in addition to implementing meaningful programs to help reduce gun violence. We can then bring our work at the local levels to collaborative conversations across the health care industry, coming together to develop strategies to address the crisis.
None of this work can be done in a vacuum, and we cannot change America’s culture of gun violence overnight. We can, however, take an important first step by uniting to address this public health crisis.
Together, we can save lives.