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Policy Brief On
Firearm Violence Prevention To Be Released By International Network
for Epidemiology In Policy
The newly renamed International Network for
Epidemiology in Policy (INEP) is scheduled in April to publish an
editorial in the International Journal of Epidemiology calling for
various actors to take meaningful action to stem what it calls
“pandemic levels” of firearm violence, especially from privately held
firearms. Violence with these weapons “is indicative of underlying
social disharmony and thus is a social disease,” according to the
editorial.
The INEP is a consortium of 23 national and international member
societies and associations of epidemiology spanning six continents. At
least 14 member organizations have endorsed this statement.
Solutions
The INEP states that existing policies “fail to
adequately protect people from firearm violence, often because they
mainly focus on the purchase and illegal uses of guns while neglecting
underlying social determinants of the violent use of firearms.” The
editorial clearly expresses the group’s belief that more research
information to better inform policy decisions would make a big impact
in reducing harm from guns. It calls for a multi-sectoral approach to
better identify causes.
Recommendations
For national and local
governments:
Collect and make epidemiological and other scientific
data relating to firearm-related morbidity and mortality publicly
available for research.
For the World Health
Organization:
Continue to encourage countries to collect and
disseminate epidemiological and other scientific data
For national and local
governments, private organizations, and non profit organizations:
Prioritize research funding on the scale and scope of
firearm violence and evaluate interventions.
For epidemiologists:
Engage in firearm violence prevention research and in
the evaluation of intervention programs. ■
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