Preventing Unintentional Firearm Injury & Death Among Youth: Examining the Evidence

Former Stoneleigh Fellow Meredith Matone, her PolicyLab colleagues, and the Center for Violence Prevention have published a new Evidence to Action brief that proposes evidence-based, public health approaches to prevent unintentional firearm injury and death in children and teens.

Despite significant national attention to shootings involving children, and resulting calls for gun reform, little has been done to address gaps in research or promote policies that can help prevent child injury and death from firearms.

As of 2018, firearm-related injury remained the second-leading cause of death for children and in 2019 alone, there were more than 300 unintentional shootings by children(link is external). As pediatric health experts who see the consequences of firearm injury firsthand, we recognize the urgency for action on this issue and have identified unintentional firearm injury and death as an important starting point for intervention.

View the full Brief