The Public Health Approach to Gun Violence Prevention

Each day more than 100 Americans die by firearms and nearly 200 are shot and injured. These deaths are preventable. A comprehensive public health approach is needed to address the gun violence epidemic. Public health is the science of reducing and preventing injury, disease, and death and promoting the health and well-being of populations through the use of data, research, and effective policies and practices. A public health approach to prevent gun violence is a population-level approach that addresses both firearm access and the factors that contribute to and protect from gun violence. This approach brings together institutions and experts across disciplines in a common effort to 1) define and monitor the problem, 2) identify risk and protective factors, 3) develop and test prevention strategies, and 4) ensure widespread adoption of effective strategies