Citation

Manzar S, Hoops K, Bagdure D. Front. Pediatr. 2023; 11: e1165301.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2023, Frontiers Media)

DOI

10.3389/fped.2023.1165301

PMID

37063676

PMCID

PMC10102459

Abstract

With every school shooting, debate on firearms garners national attention. Pediatricians will have to play an important role in the practice of promoting and integrating positive changes in the environment for children. Pediatricians played an important role in the early years of motor vehicular crashes to draw national attention to the epidemic and impact on children. We provide the perspective of the financial burden due to firearm injuries, contrasting it with vehicular crashes, an additional insight for pediatricians to promote firearm safety.

Since 2013, fatal firearm injuries in children and adolescents have been increasing in United States (1). Lee et al. described a concerning trend for deaths in children, adolescents, and youth ages 1-24 years in the United States (2). In 2017, deaths due to firearm related injuries became the most common cause of death in this age group, surpassing deaths due to motor vehicle crashes. Lee and colleagues analyzed CDC's data from 2000 to 2020 and saw the number of firearm related deaths among children, adolescents and young adults increased from 7.3 per 100,000 persons to 10.28 per 100,000 persons. There is political will and a public cry to address firearm injuries as a public health problem, and research on trends, disparities, risk factors will help guide preventive efforts.

In the United States, since 2016, the economic impact of firearm related deaths, both in terms of medical costs and the statistical value of life lost to death, is consistently greater than 1 billion dollars each year. Millions of dollars are spent caring for youth in emergency departments (3), and billions of dollars are spent on inpatient care...

Language: en

Keywords

epidemiology; pediatrics; etiology; firearm; motor vechicle crashes