Pediatric Firearm-Related Injuries: Taking Kids out of Harm's Way Begins with Targeted Prevention

Abstract

Pediatric firearm injury is a leading cause of death in children in the United States and the incidence continues to rise each year; however, comprehensive and accurate data on the scope of the problem is lacking. 1 Cunningham RM Walton MA Carter PM The major causes of death in children and adolescents in the united states. N Engl J Med. 2018; (375): 379 Google Scholar National statistics on firearm violence focus almost exclusively on deaths. This information is publicly available through the National Violent Death Reporting System, a state-based resource of violence-related deaths from multiple sources that informs the CDCs Web-Based Injury Statistics and Query System (WISQARS). This database used to contain information on non–fatal firearm injuries, but since 2019 this is no longer being reported as the data was not thought to be accurate enough. Non–fatal firearm injuries are significantly more common in children than fatal injuries, and knowing the full scope of pediatric firearm violence is vital to inform effective prevention efforts. 2 Eber GB Annest JL Mercy JA Ryan GW Nonfatal and Fatal firearm-related injuries among children aged 14 years and younger: united states, 1993-2000. Pediatrics. 2004; 113: 1686-1692 Google Scholar