Firearm deaths among Black men at 28-year high, doctors are taking steps to reframe gun violence as one of America’s major health crisis

there has been a significant increase firearm-related deaths Black men have been most affected in the United States over the past 30 years, according to a new study by a team of emergency room doctors. A study showed they were 23 times more likely to experience a firearm-related homicide than white men.

“Gun violence is an incredible scourge for our country. Gun violence affects everyone and it is important to be aware of it. But it affects certain groups more than others. Black men speak to one of the biggest, if not the biggest, inequalities,” said co-author, associate professor of pediatrics and emergency physician at Harvard Medical School. ‘s Eric Flagler said in a statement.

In a study published in Journal of American Medical Association, Flagler and colleagues analyzed disparities in firearm-related deaths from 1990 to 2021. They showed that firearm-related homicides were the highest among black men between the ages of 20 and 40. Firearm-related violence against black men is his highest in 28 years, according to the analysis.

“There are these hotspots where gun deaths are happening more frequently, and we need to intervene where they are happening. We see so many related homicides that we may need to think about implementing violence prevention strategies,” said co-author Chris Reese, assistant professor of pediatrics and emergency medicine at Emory University School of Medicine. .

To reframe gun violence as a public health crisis, the American Medical Association, one of the nation’s largest medical associations, First Task Force on Gun Violence Prevention in November.

“We cannot continue to live like this … In cinemas, places of worship, hospitals, in big cities and small towns, gun violence has shattered all sense of security and claimed many lives. As a physician, it’s common sense, evidence-based solutions, and this task force is key to that ongoing effort,” said Jack Lesneck, Jr., president of the American Medical Association. said in a statement At the start of the task force.

Experts say there are many factors that contribute to the high gun mortality rate among black men.

Jeffrey Gardere, a clinical psychologist and associate professor at the Touro College of Osteopathic Medicine, said:

Medical associations such as the AMA have long called for stronger gun control to combat gun violence. Congress passed gun control laws for the first time in 30 years.

But gun control laws alone will not solve the social problems that lead to gun violence among black men.

Where unemployment is high, there is no equal access to safe housing, and public infrastructure is neglected, people may be more exposed to risky behavior. It will help blacks and browns, especially men, to avoid gun violence, whether they are victims or perpetrators,” he said.

Reframing gun violence as a public health problem means that affected communities need to come to the table as vocal members of every task force.

“The next step I would like to see is to work at the community level and take into account what the community thinks is doable. I don’t think so,” said Reese.

We need all our resources to solve this ever-escalating problem.

“Unfortunately, the firearms epidemic in our country is deteriorating at an accelerating pace,” Flagler said.

Faith Crittenden, MD MPH is a Resident Physician in Pediatrics at Yale New Haven Children’s Hospital and a correspondent for the ABC News Medical Unit.