ORLANDO – The American Academy of Pediatrics created the Gun Safety and Injury Prevention Research Initiative to study and implement gun safety interventions to prevent homicide, suicide and unintentional injuries caused by firearms.
In an interview at the annual meeting of the American Academy of Pediatrics, Colleen A. Kraft, MD, FAAP, current AAP president, explained how AAP has renewed its efforts to protect children from firearm injuries. Black children are more likely to die in a homicide, while white children are more likely to die in a suicide through use of a firearm, Dr. Kraft said. The AAP seeks to find a nonpolitical way to discuss gun safety “with a lens on children and a lens on safety,” she said.
“What we are looking to do is to bring together partners who have the research expertise in gun safety and injury prevention, find out what we know, decide what we don’t know yet, and begin to bring together focus groups of parents and families and legislators and doctors, and people to talk about … gun safety in a way that resonates with everyone,” Dr. Kraft said.
Visit AAP’s website for more information on the Gun Safety and Injury Prevention Research Initiative.
Dr. Kraft reports no relevant conflicts of interest.