Abstract
Firearm deaths and related health issues have increased and disproportionately affected minorities in the COVID-19 era. We developed an accessible virtual training program, including topics on gun violence epidemiology, depression, substance use, intimate partner violence (IPV), intervention resources, safety planning, and COVID-19-related issues. The training program was distributed to participants from the Northeast region, particularly New Jersey, through text, email, and social media. Among the 202 survey responses from the participants, the mean age was 22.6, 50% were male, and 84.4% were minorities. Only 49.5% of participants were familiar with the related topics before the program, with participants having the least knowledge in gun violence epidemiology (9.5%). The mean test score for knowledge on all related topics after the training was 98.0 out of 100. Most participants were satisfied with the training program (92.1%), felt comfortable seeking help (86.1%), and would promote the program (83.7%). The participants were least comfortable seeking help for depression, particularly among non-African and non-Hispanic minority groups. We concluded that brief online interventions can improve community health outreach, knowledge, awareness, and likelihood of help-seeking and treatment. Tailored training programs are needed to target various populations for prevention and intervention.
Highlights
1.1 Prevalence and Consequences of Gun ViolenceGun violence is a major public health concern in the U.S Nationally, over 620,000 individuals died from firearm violence from 2000-2018, with nearly 40,000 deaths associated with gun violence in 2017 alone (CDC, 2020)
The study was conducted through the Rutgers New Jersey Medical School (NJMS) Summer Student Research Program (SSRP) and Northeast Regional Alliance MedPrep (NERA) Program in 2020
Participants of each session were similar in terms of gender and race/ethnicity (P=0.980 and 0.173). Those who participated in the gun violence epidemiology session were older than those in other sessions (P=0.001), and 32.3% of participants of this session knew someone who has experienced gun violence
Summary
1.1 Prevalence and Consequences of Gun ViolenceGun violence is a major public health concern in the U.S Nationally, over 620,000 individuals died from firearm violence from 2000-2018, with nearly 40,000 deaths associated with gun violence in 2017 alone (CDC, 2020). For every victim of fatal gun violence, two more victims sustain nonfatal gun injuries (Everytown for Gun Safety Support Fund, 2019). The firearm death rate for African Americans was the highest among all races (Kochanek et al, 2019). African American and Hispanic communities are disproportionately burdened by gun violence (Chandler, 2018). Firearm homicide is the second leading cause of death among youth, often in the context of crime and violence (CDC, 2020; Fowler et al, 2017). One in six firearm injuries affects a child or teenager, after which the injury rate peaks at young adults aged 20 to 24 years before decreasing (Everytown for Gun Safety Support Fund, 2019)
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