Firearm violence is a public health epidemic. It kills more people before the age of 65 than diabetes, stroke and liver disease combined.
– The Educational Fund to Stop Gun Violence, November 2020
Four-step violence prevention outline from the
Center for Disease Control and Prevention & the World Health Organization
Public Health Approach to Violence Prevention
Firearm violence isn’t a new problem in the United States, but according to a May 2022 report from the Giffords Law Center, its rates have “skyrocketed” since 2020. More than 45,000 Americans died from firearm violence that year and countless others were injured. In years since, these record numbers remain high, leading some who study the spread of this destruction to label firearm violence as an epidemic.
So, the question is: How do we cure the firearm violence epidemic in our country?
Public health officials have an idea. As researchers and scientists, their role is to prevent premature death and promote population health. They do this by applying a four-step process of defining the problem, identifying the root causes, developing and implementing solutions, and facilitating the adoption of those solutions.
When applied to firearm violence, this approach has the potential to identify prevention strategies that can reduce its spread in communities across the U.S.
Telling Stories that Matter
This website – created by Senior students in Cabrini University’s Communication Department – explores several strategies to cure firearm violence.
It does so through a social justice lens to spark important conversations about the complexity of this epidemic.
Fall 2022 Senior Convergence Students
