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. 2007 Apr;97(4):626-9.
doi: 10.2105/AJPH.2005.085340. Epub 2007 Feb 28.

Firearm injuries: epidemic then, endemic now

Katherine Kaufer Christoffel  1
Affiliations

Firearm injuries: epidemic then, endemic now

Katherine Kaufer Christoffel. Am J Public Health. 2007 Apr.

Abstract

There has been a transition in US firearm injuries from an epidemic phase (mid-1980s to early 1990s) to an endemic one (since the mid-1990s). Endemic US firearm injuries merit public health attention because they exact an ongoing toll, may give rise to new epidemic outbreaks, and can foster firearm injuries in other parts of the world. The endemic period is a good time for the development of ongoing prevention approaches, including assessment and monitoring of local risk factors over time and application of proven measures to reduce these risk factors, development of means to address changing circumstances, and ongoing professional and public education designed to weave firearm injury prevention into the fabric of public health work and everyday life.

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Figures

FIGURE 1—
FIGURE 1—
Firearm deaths in the United States from 1910 to 2002.
FIGURE 2—
FIGURE 2—
Nonfatal firearm injuries in the United States from 2000 to 2004.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Gallup Poll. What do you think is the most important problem facing this country today? May 1998. Available at: http://institution.gallup.com.turing.library.northwestern.edu. Accessed January 21, 2007.
    1. WISQARS (Web-Based Injury Statistics Query and Reporting System). Available at: http://www.cdc.gov/ncipc/wisqars. Accessed January 21, 2007.
    1. Broker Version 8.1 (Build 1366). Available at: http://webappa.cdc.gov/cgi-bin/broker.exe. Accessed June 9, 2006.
    1. Longjohn MM, Christoffel KK. Are medical societies developing a standard for gun injury prevention? Inj Prev. 2004;10:169–173. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Best Practices of Youth Violence Prevention: A Sourcebook for Community Action. Atlanta, Ga: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; September 2000.

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