The Public Health Issue of Gun Violence

Transcription

1 The Public Health Issue of Gun Violence WILLIAM V. BEGG III MD FACEP Vice Chair, Danbury Hospital Emergency Department EMS Medical Director, Danbury Hospital Immediate Past President of the Medical Staff, WCHN Friday, November 30 th

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3 Objectives: Review how the public health issue of gun violence affects our communities. Apply the experiences from gun related mass tragedies to future disasters other communities will face. 3

4 I do not have any relevant financial relationships with any commercial interests. I am not an advocate of banning guns for law abiding citizens 4

5 I do have close relationships with those from Newtown affected by the Sandy Hook Tragedy, as I have lived in Newtown for 25 years and am the father of three children from the Newtown, Connecticut school district. 5

6 I was one the doctors overseeing care in the Danbury Hospital Emergency Department on the day of the Sandy Hook Elementary School Tragedy 6

7 In 2012, it was Newtown that faced an unspeakable human tragedy 7

8 Newtown experience represents the worst mass killing of school children this country has ever seen. 8

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11 Presentation dedicated to Grace McDonnell 11 11

12 Selected data in following slides highlighting how the United States culture separates us from the rest of the world Pistols for sale at Target Masters, an indoor shooting center, in Garland, Texas on March 3. Cooper Neill for The Washington Post via Getty Images 12 12

13 There have been more than 2,000 mass shootings since the Sandy Hook Massacre in 2012 mg src=" alt=""> Soo Oh/Vox 13 13

14 On average, there is more than one mass shooting for each day in America cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/ /mass_shooting_calendar.png" alt=""> Christopher Ingraham/Washington Post 14 14

15 Gun violence deaths in the US Almost 100 people die each day >34,000 people die each year 21,000 suicides 12,000 murdered 600 accidental 15 15

16 Non fatal gun violence 350,000 nonfatal violent crimes with guns 75,000 treated in ER s for non-fatal gunshot wounds. CDC 2012 Vyrostek

17 U.S. Gun deaths vs Car deaths 17 17

18 Causes of Death in US per 100,000 Heart Disease Deaths 193 Cancer 186 Diabetes 22.4 Suicide 12.4 Liver disease/cirrhosis 10.3 Firearms 10.2 Hypertension 8.6 Firearm Suicide

19 US Gun Death rates vs World

20 America has 4.4 percent of the world s population, but almost half of the civilian-owned guns around the world img src=" alt=""> Javier Zarracina/Vox 20 20

21 America has six times as many firearm homicides as Canada, and nearly 16 times as many as Germany img src=" alt=""> Javier Zarracina/Vox 21 21

22 States with more guns have more gun deaths Data from a study in Pediatrics and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention img src=" alt=""> Mother Jones 22 22

23 Pediatric Gun Deaths 25% of California adults live in households with firearms 40% of these households with firearms include children age under California Safety and Wellbeing study 23 23

24 Pediatric Gun Deaths Children are 11 times more likely to be killed by accidental discharge of a firearm than their peers in other high income countries

25 Cost of gun violence Billions dollars annually to the US criminal justice system Gun violence related costs equal to expenses for all other crimes put together

26 Cost of gun violence Total costs to U.S. is estimated to be over $250,000,000 Each Hospitalization for gun shot victims costs over $500,000 per patient Average annual cost of violent crime was estimated at more than $2500 per US citizen. Cook PJ, Ludwig J. Gun Violence: The Real Costs. New York: Oxford University Press, Shapiro RJ, Hassett KA. The Economic Benefits of Reducing Violent Crime: A Case Study of 8 American Cities. Center for American Progress, Washington, DC, June

27 Independent Lens We Are All Newtown Part 2 PBS