ACP-ASIM Pressroom

Physicians Declare Gun Violence 'Public Health Epidemic'

Counseling Could Affect Millions of Patients

See also: Firearm Injury Prevention Position Paper, Related Article, Related Editorial

CONTACT: Barbara Katzman, 215-351-2513 or 800-523-1546, ext. 2513
Kathleen Haddad, 202-393-1650

WASHINGTON—(Jan. 28, 1998) Gun violence in the United States is a public health threat of epidemic proportions, according to the American College of Physicians (ACP). The College urges its 100,000 internist members to counsel patients on handgun use and safety, support community actions to reduce firearm injuries and endorse legislative and regulatory measures to reduce gun violence. "Efforts by physicians to prevent firearm injury must be as vigilant as efforts to encourage seat belt use a decade ago," says ACP President William A. Reynolds, MD.

In the Feb. 1 issue of ACP's journal, Annals of Internal Medicine,a new position paper, "Firearm Injury Prevention," reports:

  • By the year 2003, gunfire is projected to surpass automobile accidents as the leading cause of traumatic death in the United States.
  • More teens die from gunshot wounds than from all natural causes.
  • The number of firearm-related deaths increased by more than 60% from 1968 to 1994.
  • Firearms in the home increase the risk of death by suicide fivefold; of homicide threefold.

Internists, who provide the majority of health care to the nation's adults, are in an ideal position to reverse the increasing menace of guns. ACP estimates that if its members counsel their adult patients about preventing firearm violence, it could impact millions of patients nationwide. In an accompanying editorial, "Reframing Gun Violence," Annals editor Frank Davidoff, MD, writes, "…if the only change that came from reframing gun violence as a medical issue were that all internists and surgeons began actively counseling their patients regularly on gun safety, the effect on firearm violence could be substantial."

A survey of more than 900 internists and surgeons, commissioned by ACP and conducted in cooperation with the American College of Surgeons (ACS), also in this issue of Annals, is discussed by Christine K. Cassel, MD. The survey found that 94% of internists and 87% of surgeons believe firearm violence is a major public health issue, and similar majorities believe that doctors should be involved in prevention activities. "For the first time, we have survey evidence that a striking majority of both physicians and surgeons know that having a gun in the home increases the risk of gun injuries, and that doctors want to be more involved in gun violence prevention," says Deborah Leff, The Joyce Foundation president. The Joyce Foundation, Chicago, and the Brain Injury Association, Alexandria, Va., provided funding for the survey. The study was conducted by the National Opinion Research Center (NORC).

"The articles build a strong case for considering gun violence as a prevention issue of highest priority," says Dr. Cassel, immediate past president of ACP and member of the President's Advisory Commission on Consumer Protection and Quality in the Health Care Industry.

Headquartered in Philadelphia, ACP is the nation's largest medical specialty organization. ACP is a member of the Handgun Epidemic Lowering Plan (HELP) Network.