|
Abstract
|
In past editorials, we have talked about how pediatric professionals can best support patients when discussing war and conflict in the world. Over the July 4th weekend, in our area, seven people were shot and killed and dozens of others were injured by Robert E. Crimo III, a 21-year-old highly disturbed young man, who had legally purchased automatic weapons in Northern Illinois. Included in the number of people killed or injured that day, are the parents of a 2-year-old child4 and an 8-year-old child who is now a paraplegic.
When this tragic incident occurred, I (J.R.H.) was at a family gathering with my children and grandchildren, who are between ages 1 and 5 years. While the older children were asking why we were all so upset, I immediately started to remember the five second graders I helped to care for at Evanston Hospital in 1988 when they were shot by Laurie Dann.6 All five survived, but sadly one child, who was sent to Highland Park Hospital, did not.
Recent literature from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report increases in the rates of death by firearm in pediatric patients age 0 to 19 years from 2001 to 2019.7 Firearm mortality has become the number one cause of pediatric deaths and has surpassed motor vehicle collisions. Furthermore, "In 2019, Black youth had a firearm mortality rate 4.3 times higher than that of White youth and a firearm homicide rate over 14 times higher than that of White youth." For each additional year after 2013, the mortality rate for Black youth increased by 0.55 deaths per 100,000 compared with White youth.
In addition, the American Academy of Pediatrics Council on Injury, Violence, and Poison Prevention Program did a preliminary study looking at the effect of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic on firearm injuries and mortality from January 1, 2019 to April 26, 2020...
Language: en |