In response to the public health crisis of firearm violence, professionals from 47 multidisciplinary medical societies and health organizations from across the country participated in a Medical Summit on Firearm Injury Prevention at ACS headquarters in Chicago on September 10 and 11.
Cohosted by the ACS, American College of Physicians, American College of Emergency Physicians, American Academy of Pediatrics, and the Council of Medical Specialty Societies, this hybrid in-person and virtual meeting was the second such meeting aimed at developing firearm violence prevention recommendations. It built upon the first Medical Summit’s work from 2019.
The meeting provided an opportunity for an inclusive and collegial dialogue on identifying opportunities for the medical community to reach a consensus-based approach to firearm injury prevention, with a focus on understanding and addressing the root causes of firearm violence while advocating for bipartisan policy solutions to address the issue.
Broadly, topics discussed included:
- The public health approach to firearm violence in the US
- Recent and potential legislative approaches related to prevention
- Addressing violence through community engagement
- Utilizing healthcare resources to influence the social determinants that contribute to violence
- How effective communication on firearm violence from the healthcare sector can influence policy work and community building
Some of the most significant work at the summit came from breakout discussions during each session, where participants worked together to educate one another on their areas of expertise and develop a set of initial recommendations that will drive the coalition’s future action.
The planning committee will compile and disseminate the recommendations and proceedings for participating organizations to consider further. Leaders at the summit also committed to a long-term working relationship (or coalition) and agreed to create an infrastructure for continued longitudinal collaboration so that effective firearm violence prevention education, resources, and policy solutions can be pursued.
Proceedings from the second Medical Summit on Firearm Injury Prevention will be released in the coming months.
The ACS’s leadership role in coordinating the summit is an extension of recent work to create practical, apolitical recommendations for reducing firearm violence in the US. This includes development of Firearm Safety Team (FAST) recommendations based on public safety principles. The Bipartisan Safer Communities Act, the most significant new federal legislation addressing firearm violence in 30 years, was signed in June 2022 and aligned with three of the FAST workgroup’s recommendations.
