IntroductionsFirearm-related injury surveillance: An overview of progress and the challenges ahead
Section snippets
Rationale
The reasons for establishing firearm-related injury surveillance systems at the national, state, and local levels in the United States are clear and compelling. First, the public health impact of the problem is substantial. Second, objective data are needed to guide and evaluate policy decisions. Third, existing injury data collection systems are inadequate to monitor firearm-related injury. Finally, lessons learned during the development of firearm-related injury surveillance systems can
A framework for firearm injury surveillance
Ideally, a comprehensive firearm-related injury surveillance system should provide data coverage along two key dimensions: the system should have the capacity to monitor firearm-related injuries at the national, state, and local levels; and it should provide information on three types of health indicators: mortality, morbidity (including disability), and risk/protective behaviors. We have made progress in improving our capacity to undertake firearm-related injury surveillance at the national,
CDC state and local firearm-related injury surveillance projects
In the United States, the legal and regulatory authority for public health surveillance resides primarily with state and local governments.34 The Institute of Medicine, in its report The Future of Public Health, argued that the assessment of health problems was a core governmental function of public health and that a key responsibility of state and public health agencies was the assessment, monitoring, and surveillance of health problems.1 Given the critical role and responsibility of state and
Conclusions
Progress in preventing the huge toll of firearm-related injuries that plagues our nation depends, in part, on the availability of objective and reliable information on the magnitude and characteristics of this problem. Although tangible progress has been made in improving the availability of routinely collected information at the national, state, and local levels, much work remains to be done. In looking toward the future, we must now build on what has been learned to establish and evaluate a
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