Citation

Price JH, Oden L. Public Health Rep. (1974) 1999; 114(6): 533-539.

Affiliation

College of Health and Human Services, University of Toledo, Ohio, USA. jprice@utnet.utoledo.edu

Copyright

(Copyright © 1999, Association of Schools of Public Health)

DOI

unavailable

PMID

10670621

PMCID

PMC1308537

Abstract

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to gather data regarding local public health departments' involvement in activities to prevent firearm-related morbidity and mortality. METHODS: A questionnaire was sent to local public health departments serving cities with populations > or =60,000 to assess their perceptions of the magnitude of the firearm injury problem in their jurisdictions and the activities in which they were engaged to reduce firearm-related injuries. RESULTS: Almost half (49.7%) of respondents said that their departments had not seriously thought about being involved in activities to reduce firearm-related injuries, and fewer than one in five (17.8%) reported that their departments were involved in such activities. Respondents identified three barriers to involvement in activities to reduce firearm injuries: limited financial resources (62.7% of respondents), lack of expertise (50.8%), and not enough time (47%). CONCLUSIONS: Despite the extent of firearm injuries in the US, systematic collection of local data on firearm morbidity and mortality to help guide policy development is lacking.

Language: en