PIT7 THE PROFILE OF FIREARMS INJURIES IN BRAZIL BETWEEN 2009 AND 2016

Abstract

Main factors related to high violence levels in Latin America countries are possession and use of firearms. In early 2019, the Brazilian government published a new regulation about firearms possession that may increase access to this type of weapon, which could potentially rise the frequency of firearms injuries. Thus, the present study aims to describe the profile of this injuries in Brazil according to records of compulsory notification of violence, between 2009-2016. In this descriptive research, secondary data of firearms lesions were collected and analyzed. For data collection, the VIVA/SINAN database was used as a research source. The variables considered for the analysis were geographic region, gender, age, place and race. The evaluation of this variables was conducted by descriptive statistics. A total of 54,414 firearms injuries were notified between 2009-2016, with most occurrences reported at the Northeast and Southeast regions (20,973 and 16,816 cases, respectively; 69.4% of all cases). An increasing number was observed, with a total of 2,452 and 9,605 cases in 2013 and 2015, respectively. Between 2015 and 2016, a reduction in the number of firearms lesions was noted (9,605 and 9,380, respectively). Injuries were mostly reported in male, with a total of 31,185 (57.3%) cases. Most victims (62%) were adolescents and adults, aging from 15-29 years. Public highway (42%) and victims dwelling (22.7%) were the main places of occurrence and, considering racial classification, brown people were the most affected group (40.5%), followed by white people (27.7%) and black people (8.9%). The increased number of firearms injuries, with brown male being the most affected profile, shows a potential issue for Brazilian society with the new firearms regulation. Furthermore, these results corroborate with the importance of future discussions on the new Brazilian regulation on firearms possession.