5th Annual Firearm Injury and Prevention Conference: education + action

Gun violence remains a leading cause of death in the U.S., even among children. On Friday, June 5, the Department of Pediatrics hosted an important day of discussion and education focused on firearm injury prevention to change this statistic.

The Firearm Injury and Prevention Conference was co-hosted by Sandra McKay, MD, associate professor and division chief of General Academic Pediatrics here at McGovern, and Eric Fleegler, MD, MPH, senior research investigator at Massachusetts General Hospital, and featured nationally recognized experts exploring the public health impact of gun violence and the role of policy in prevention efforts. About 85 individuals attended in person and nearly 200 participated online in these compelling conversations.

The conference opened with an informative keynote by Cedric Dark, MD, MPH, associate professor at Baylor College of Medicine. Dr. Dark presentation, “Under the Gun: Rewriting the Narrative on America’s Gun Epidemic,” combined data, policy, and personal stories examining the gun violence epidemic. He discussed the three levels of prevention and read stirring excerpts from his book, Under the Gun: An ER Doctor’s Cure for America’s Gun Epidemic, of which he later signed copies for attendees.

Throughout the day, attendees engaged in presentations and panel discussions on community violence interventions, credible messenger programs, secure firearm storage innovations, policy collaboration, and prevention initiatives, including the SAFEWatch Firearm Injuries Dashboard (external link). Theresa Tran, MD, MBA, FACEP, director of the Houston Health Department and assistant professor of Emergency Medicine at McGovern Medical School at UTHealth Houston, gave a live demo of the dashboard and highlighted several innovative programs designed to create a safer and healthier Houston.

The conference concluded with energetic keynote speaker Joshua Horwitz, JD, distinguished professor at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, presenting “The Policy Impacts on Firearm Injury Prevention.” His presentation focused on how policy influences firearm injury prevention efforts, and he offered actionable strategies that can help save lives. He encouraged attendees to take part in advocacy, reminding all that important policy change does not happen by accident.

This year’s Firearm Injury and Prevention Conference was made possible through funding from the Kaiser Permanente Center for Gun Violence Research and Education and sponsored by the Texas Violence and Injury Prevention Research Center (external link), McGovern Medical School at UTHealth Houston, and UTHealth Houston School of Public Health. Thanks to this support, registration was free and open to the public.