Applying a Public Health Approach to Gun Violence Prevention

Infectious disease is currently dominating the news. The COVID-19 pandemic has affected countries across the world, with the virus spreading quickly between individuals. The disease has altered our way of life, decimating communities, burdening our healthcare systems, and forcing people to shelter in place.

While COVID-19 remains a public health emergency, there is another ongoing public health crisis in the United States: gun violence. Though these two crises may initially seem unrelated, the two share several common threads — and the same framework for a solution.

Gun violence has many analogs to infectious disease. Like COVID-19, gun violence can affect anyone, yet it disproportionately affects communities of color, exacerbating existing inequities in these communities. And similar to infectious disease, those who are exposed to gun violence are often at increased risk for becoming victims or perpetrators. Gun violence is also similar to a disease in that it burdens our healthcare system. Between 2006–2014, emergency departments treated approximately 700,000 gunshot victims, costing hospitals around $2.8 billion annually. The total estimated economic cost of gun violence in the U.S. is $229 billion each year.

To adequately address gun violence as the public health problem it is, we need…