Abstract
Objective:The purpose of this review was to provide an evidence-based recommendation for community-based programs to mitigate gun violence, from the Eastern Association for the Surgery of Trauma (EAST).Summary Background Data:Firearm Injury leads to >40,000 annual deaths and >115,000 injuries annually in the United States. Communities have adopted culturally relevant strategies to mitigate gun related injury and death. Two such strategies are gun buyback programs and community-based violence prevention programs.Methods:The Injury Control and Violence Prevention Committee of EAST developed Population, Intervention, Comparator, Outcomes (PICO) questions and performed a comprehensive literature and gray web literature search. Using GRADE methodology, they reviewed and graded the literature and provided consensus recommendations informed by the literature.Results:A total of 19 studies were included for analysis of gun buyback programs. Twenty-six studies were reviewed for analysis for community-based violence prevention programs. Gray literature was added to the discussion of PICO questions from selected websites. A conditional recommendation is made for the implementation of community-based gun buyback programs and a conditional recommendation for community-based violence prevention programs, with special emphasis on cultural appropriateness and community input.Conclusions:Gun violence may be mitigated by community-based efforts, such as gun buybacks or violence prevention programs. These programs come with caveats, notably community cultural relevance and proper support and funding from local leadership.Level of Evidence: Review, Decision, level III.
Original language | English (US) |
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Pages (from-to) | 298-305 |
Number of pages | 8 |
Journal | Annals of surgery |
Volume | 274 |
Issue number | 2 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - Aug 1 2021 |
Keywords
- community based violence prevention
- firearm injury
- gun buybacks
- gun violence
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Surgery