An Important Message On Gun Safety from Dr. Sunder

Nithya Sunder, MDThe goal of every PHA provider is to help ensure a happy, healthy, and safe childhood for all of our patients. One potential threat to children's safety is the improper storage of firearms. There has been a lot of controversy recently about proposed gun control measures and the best way to protect people in this country from violence committed using firearms. The priority of this blog is on protecting children from gun-related violence. Aside from the numerous reports of small children, teens and young adults being involved in highly publicized mass shootings including Aurora, Colorado and Newtown, Connecticut, there are many studies detailing how often firearm-related violence affects children and teenagers. In 2008 and 2009, an average of one child or teenager was killedevery three hours. A child or teen suffered gun-related injuries about every 31 minutes during that same time period. The number of preschool-aged children killed by guns was almost double that of law enforcement officers killed in the line of duty. In Illinois in 2009, there were 4.3 children or teens killed or injured by firearms per 100,000. A 1991 study revealed that 8% of accidental shooting deaths were caused by a child under the age of 6 years. The most recent study comparing 23 industrialized nations shows that 87% of children under 15 years who were killed by guns lived in the United States. For teens and young adults between ages 15 and 24 years, the gun homicide rate was 42.7 tim...
Source: Pediatric Health Associates - Category: Pediatrics Tags: Healthy Habits Source Type: news