Researchers from the Johns Hopkins Center for Gun Policy and Research and University of California, Davis, state that more physician involvement is required in the current gun violence prevention policy.
According to lead author Shannon Frattaroli, a faculty member with the Johns Hopkins Center for Gun Policy and Research at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, physicians can provide valuable information to the public as well be valuable constituency for policymakers. She thinks that these physicians can help the current gun violence prevention policy in a great way, says a report on Science Daily. Hence, Frattaroli and her colleagues have come up with five ways in which physicians can be directly involved in the policy:
1. Physician as clinician: It's been found that majority of people who die of gun violence its due to suicide. Hence, physicians can ensure mental stability of people reducing the number of suicides. This way, the can also be a mediator between policy makers and the general public when it comes to policies that restrict the purchase of guns to certain individuals.
2. Physicians' role in managing fear: Fear is a very common feeling when people think of guns and policies that surround firearms. Physicians who consistently deal with the fears of patients can help address this issue and "bring those skills to the current conversation on guns."
3. Physician as researcher: Earlier this year President Obama asked the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to conduct an intense research on the causes and consequences of gun violence. Physicians can also help assure that money is appropriated, and contribute to the future research agenda.
4. Physician as policy advocate: Physicians can collectively raise their voice to request Congress members to adopt new policies that reduce or do away with gun violence.
5. Physician as leader: Physicians can write and talk about their interactions with patients and colleagues to build a better awareness of the policy and prevent future incidents.
"Most people who die from gunshot wounds do so at the shooting site and never make it to the hospital. More or better treatment is unlikely to yield the greatest reductions in gun deaths," Wintemute said. "Gun violence is a public-health problem requiring a greater emphasis on prevention. Physicians, on behalf of their patients and their communities, can add much to the current policy discussions."
