The Biden administration is enlisting America\u2019s doctors to help combat gun violence.<\/p>\n

About 160 health-care executives and officials<\/strong> have been invited to the White House today and Friday to promote public health solutions to the epidemic. A top priority, I\u2019m told: The White House wants hospital emergency departments to collect more data about gunshot injuries their physicians treat, as well as routinely counsel patients about the safe use of firearms.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s part of the president\u2019s strategy to build support for gun-safety measures outside the Capitol, where legislation to more strictly regulate firearms can\u2019t overcome mainly Republican opposition. Biden\u2019s already recruited educators<\/a> to talk to parents about safe gun storage and community workers to help at-risk youth<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe president has been clear: This is a public health crisis. So, to solve it, we need the leaders from the health-care sector,\u201d Rob Wilcox<\/strong>, a deputy director of the White House Office of Gun Violence Prevention<\/strong>, told me in a phone interview. \u201cThose are the leaders that run the health systems and hospitals that we go to for treatment, and it\u2019s those doctors, nurses, practitioners on the front lines.\u201d<\/p>\n

Health experts have long described gun violence as a public health crisis, one that disproportionately affects Black and Hispanic residents in poor neighborhoods. Biden\u2019s election opponent, former president Donald Trump<\/strong>, has assailed his gun policies and warned the National Rifle Association<\/strong> in May<\/a> that \u201cif the Biden regime gets four more years, they are coming for your guns.\u201d<\/p>\n

In 2022, more than 48,000 people<\/strong> were killed by guns<\/a> in the United States, or about 132 people<\/strong> a day, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention<\/strong>. An additional 200-plus Americans<\/strong> are injured each day, according to estimates<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Surveys show most Americans \u2014 across political affiliations and regardless of gun ownership<\/a> \u2014 support policies that could reduce violence.<\/p>\n

Biden\u2019s initiative isn\u2019t just about messaging. It\u2019s also about money. Unlike America\u2019s other deadly health threats \u2014 such as cancer, HIV and automobile crashes \u2014 limited federal dollars<\/a> fund gun violence research, in part because of politics.<\/p>\n

In 1996, a Republican-controlled Congress cut federal funding for gun safety research at the CDC, essentially shifting the burden to the private sector and academia \u2014 with a fraction of the previous budget. In 2019, Congress reversed course and has since agreed every year to allocate $25 million <\/strong>to the CDC and the National Institutes of Health <\/strong>for gun research.<\/p>\n

Health researchers say more timely and comprehensive data about gun injuries and deaths would give them a better understanding of trends behind gun violence \u2014 and what policies might prevent it.<\/p>\n

The White House is asking state and local health departments, health systems and hospitals to increase timely data collection on emergency department visits for firearm-related injuries to \u201csupport state and local jurisdictions in identifying and responding to emerging public health problems,\u201d Wilcox said.<\/p>\n

The goal is \u201cto inform prevention efforts,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

The data will cover fatal and nonfatal injuries. Existing CDC data focuses on deaths, while its data on injuries is limited. For instance, one person was killed in the Feb. 14 shooting at the Kansas City Chiefs<\/strong> Super Bowl victory parade, but the CDC data probably will not count the roughly two dozen other people who were injured<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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This article is not available for syndication due to republishing restrictions. If you have questions about the availability of this or other content for republication, please contact NewsWeb@kff.org<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n
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