JAMA Pediatrics | Surge in Pediatric Firearm Injuries During Pandemic

By Editor on February 16, 2023

Citation

Iantorno SE, Swendiman RA, Bucher BT, Russell KW. Surge in Pediatric Firearm Injuries Presenting to US Children’s Hospitals During the COVID-19 Pandemic. JAMA Pediatr. Published online December 19, 2022. doi:10.1001/jamapediatrics.2022.4881

Firearm injuries are the leading cause of injury-related death for US children,¹ and increased societal violence during the COVID-19 pandemic, including mass shooting events, has sparked renewed public attention toward this public health crisis. Some early pandemic studies revealed a spike in firearm injuries,²^,3 whereas others found unchanged rates.⁴^,5 We evaluated contemporary trends in pediatric firearm injuries before and during the pandemic to determine whether sociodemographic risk factors were similar.

About The Study: Rates of children with firearm injuries presenting to U.S. children’s hospitals significantly increased during the COVID-19 pandemic and remained elevated throughout 2021. Non-Hispanic Black children and those with public insurance had greater proportions of firearm-injured children during versus before the pandemic.

Authors: Stephanie E. Iantorno, M.D., of the University of Utah School of Medicine in Salt Lake City, is the corresponding author.

(doi:10.1001/jamapediatrics.2022.4881)

Editor’s Note: Please see the article for additional information, including other authors, author contributions and affiliations, conflict of interest and financial disclosures, and funding and support.

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SOURCE: https://media.jamanetwork.com/news-item/surge-in-pediatric-firearm-injuries-during-pandemic/

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