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VANCOUVER, B.C. – The evidence is strong. Having guns at home increases the risk of accidental injury, suicide, and homicide among youth. Nearly 20,600 youths between the ages of 1 and 24 years sustain firearm injuries each year, and 6,570 of them die.
Firearm injuries cause twice as many deaths as cancer, five times as many as heart disease, and 20 times as many as infections in this age group, according to presenters who spoke during a symposium about firearm injury prevention at the annual meeting of the Pediatric Academic Societies.
"We must continue to raise awareness about the public health and social consequences of firearm injury in children," symposium cochair Dr. Barbara J. Stoll, chair of the pediatrics department at Emory University in Atlanta, noted in a written statement. "We hope to focus the discussion on up-to-date evidence, rather than politics or personal opinion, and to identify gaps in knowledge and build the case for expanded research. Firearm injury has not gone away. We must address the tragedy of these preventable injuries and deaths," Dr. Stoll said.
But because the issue is highly politicized, pediatricians might hesitate to bring it up in conversation during routine office visits.
Dr. Robert Sege, director of the division of family and child advocacy at Boston Medical Center, shared his advice during this video interview on how to approach the topic without creating tension or push-back.
Dr. Sege had no relevant conflicts of interest.
On Twitter @naseemsmiller
The video associated with this article is no longer available on this site. Please view all of our videos on the MDedge YouTube channel
VANCOUVER, B.C. – The evidence is strong. Having guns at home increases the risk of accidental injury, suicide, and homicide among youth. Nearly 20,600 youths between the ages of 1 and 24 years sustain firearm injuries each year, and 6,570 of them die.
Firearm injuries cause twice as many deaths as cancer, five times as many as heart disease, and 20 times as many as infections in this age group, according to presenters who spoke during a symposium about firearm injury prevention at the annual meeting of the Pediatric Academic Societies.
"We must continue to raise awareness about the public health and social consequences of firearm injury in children," symposium cochair Dr. Barbara J. Stoll, chair of the pediatrics department at Emory University in Atlanta, noted in a written statement. "We hope to focus the discussion on up-to-date evidence, rather than politics or personal opinion, and to identify gaps in knowledge and build the case for expanded research. Firearm injury has not gone away. We must address the tragedy of these preventable injuries and deaths," Dr. Stoll said.
But because the issue is highly politicized, pediatricians might hesitate to bring it up in conversation during routine office visits.
Dr. Robert Sege, director of the division of family and child advocacy at Boston Medical Center, shared his advice during this video interview on how to approach the topic without creating tension or push-back.
Dr. Sege had no relevant conflicts of interest.
On Twitter @naseemsmiller
The video associated with this article is no longer available on this site. Please view all of our videos on the MDedge YouTube channel
VANCOUVER, B.C. – The evidence is strong. Having guns at home increases the risk of accidental injury, suicide, and homicide among youth. Nearly 20,600 youths between the ages of 1 and 24 years sustain firearm injuries each year, and 6,570 of them die.
Firearm injuries cause twice as many deaths as cancer, five times as many as heart disease, and 20 times as many as infections in this age group, according to presenters who spoke during a symposium about firearm injury prevention at the annual meeting of the Pediatric Academic Societies.
"We must continue to raise awareness about the public health and social consequences of firearm injury in children," symposium cochair Dr. Barbara J. Stoll, chair of the pediatrics department at Emory University in Atlanta, noted in a written statement. "We hope to focus the discussion on up-to-date evidence, rather than politics or personal opinion, and to identify gaps in knowledge and build the case for expanded research. Firearm injury has not gone away. We must address the tragedy of these preventable injuries and deaths," Dr. Stoll said.
But because the issue is highly politicized, pediatricians might hesitate to bring it up in conversation during routine office visits.
Dr. Robert Sege, director of the division of family and child advocacy at Boston Medical Center, shared his advice during this video interview on how to approach the topic without creating tension or push-back.
Dr. Sege had no relevant conflicts of interest.
On Twitter @naseemsmiller
The video associated with this article is no longer available on this site. Please view all of our videos on the MDedge YouTube channel
AT THE PAS ANNUAL MEETING
