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Review
. 2021 Aug 1;274(2):298-305.
doi: 10.1097/SLA.0000000000004837.

Prevention of Firearm Violence Through Specific Types of Community-based Programming: An Eastern Association for the Surgery of Trauma Evidence-based Review

Stephanie L Bonne  1   2 , Pina Violano  3 , Thomas K Duncan  4 , Peter A Pappas  5 , Gerard A Baltazar  6 , Linda A Dultz  7 , Mary E Schroeder  8 , Jeanette Capella  9 , Michael Hirsh  10 , Kristen Conrad-Schnetz  11 , Rishi Rattan  12 , John J Como  13 , Sarah Jewell  14 , Marie L Crandall  15
Affiliations
Review

Prevention of Firearm Violence Through Specific Types of Community-based Programming: An Eastern Association for the Surgery of Trauma Evidence-based Review

Stephanie L Bonne et al. Ann Surg. .

Abstract

Objective: The purpose of this review was to provide an evidence-based recommendation for community-based programs to mitigate gun violence, from the Eastern Association for the Surgery of Trauma (EAST).

Summary background data: Firearm Injury leads to >40,000 annual deaths and >115,000 injuries annually in the United States. Communities have adopted culturally relevant strategies to mitigate gun related injury and death. Two such strategies are gun buyback programs and community-based violence prevention programs.

Methods: The Injury Control and Violence Prevention Committee of EAST developed Population, Intervention, Comparator, Outcomes (PICO) questions and performed a comprehensive literature and gray web literature search. Using GRADE methodology, they reviewed and graded the literature and provided consensus recommendations informed by the literature.

Results: A total of 19 studies were included for analysis of gun buyback programs. Twenty-six studies were reviewed for analysis for community-based violence prevention programs. Gray literature was added to the discussion of PICO questions from selected websites. A conditional recommendation is made for the implementation of community-based gun buyback programs and a conditional recommendation for community-based violence prevention programs, with special emphasis on cultural appropriateness and community input.

Conclusions: Gun violence may be mitigated by community-based efforts, such as gun buybacks or violence prevention programs. These programs come with caveats, notably community cultural relevance and proper support and funding from local leadership.Level of Evidence: Review, Decision, level III.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors report no conflicts of interest.

References

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    1. Crandall M, Eastman A, Violano P, et al. Prevention of firearm-related injuries with restrictive licensing and concealed carry laws: An Eastern Association for the Surgery of Trauma systematic review. J Trauma Acute Care Surg 2016; 81:952–960.

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