Firearm Morbidity and Mortality in the United States and Beyond Critical Research and Public Health Initiatives (Social EM and Population Health Interest Group-Sponsored)

Firearm injuries are a leading cause of preventable morbidity and mortality in the United States. Recent federal funding has advanced research and public health efforts, yet significant research gaps persist in addressing firearm injuries. Federal and public health funding for firearm injuries continues to lag behind comparable causes of death. Firearm injuries disproportionately affect the pediatric population, becoming a leading cause of injury and death across the Americas. Research shows that firearms are the top cause of death among U.S. youths, with U.S.-based firearm manufacturing contributing to rising injury rates. This session will focus on these critical areas and feature three emergency medicine experts.

Learning Objectives:

Upon completion of this session, participants should be able to:
  • Describe the current state of firearm injury prevention in the US, including research and public health initiatives
  • Specify two gaps in our understanding of firearm injury, including pediatrics and US influence internationally
  • Provide an illustrative example of research that fills a gap, and how this research can inform prevention efforts

Presenters:

  • Christian D. Pulcini, MD, MEd, MPH
  • Megan Ranney, MD, MPH
  • Stephen W. Hargarten, MD, MPH
Authors

  • Christian D. Pulcini, MD, MEd, MPH

    Pediatric Emergency Physician

    University of Vermont Medical Center

    Dr. Pulcini is a pediatric emergency physician at the University of Vermont Medical Center and UVM Children's Hospital, as well as an Assistant Professor of Emergency Medicine (EM) and Pediatrics at the University of Vermont Larner College of Medicine. He attended Tufts University School of Medicine followed by pediatrics residency at Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh of UPMC. He then completed pediatric EM fellowship at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia. He holds an M.Ed. in secondary education from Loyola Marymount University (former Teach for America corps member) and an M.P.H. in maternal and child health from Boston University school of Public Health.

  • Megan Ranney MD MPH

    Megan Ranney MD MPH is a practicing emergency physician and researcher, focusing on the intersection between digital health, violence prevention, and public health.

    She is the Director and founder of the Brown Emergency Digital Health Innovation (EDHI) program (www.brownedhi.org). She is also Chief Research Officer for the American Foundation for Firearm Injury Reduction in Medicine (www.affirmresearch.org), the country's only non-profit committed to reducing firearm injury through the public health approach, and a founding partner of GetUsPPE.org, dedicated to matching donors to health systems in need of protective equipment. She is a Fellow of the fifth class of the Aspen Health Innovators Fellowship Program and a member of the Aspen Global Leadership Network.

    She graduated from Harvard University summa cum laude with a Bachelor of Arts in History of Science in 1997. She served as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Cote d'Ivoire prior to attending medical school at Columbia University College of Physicians & Surgeons in NYC. She graduated with AOA status and received the Leonard Tow Humanism in Medicine award from the Gold Humanism Society on graduation. She completed internship, residency, and chief residency in Emergency Medicine, as well as a fellowship in Injury Prevention Research and a Master of Public Health, at Brown University.

    She is currently an Associate Professor in the Department of Emergency Medicine at Rhode Island Hospital/Alpert Medical School of Brown University. She is an editor for the journal Annals of Emergency Medicine, a Fellow of the American College of Emergency Physicians, and an elected member of the Society for Academic Emergency Medicine Board of Directors. She has previously served as an appointed member of HIMSS' mHealth Physician Taskforce. Chair of the Research Committee for the Society for Academic Emergency Medicine, and chair of the Firearm Injury Research Technical Advisory Group for the American College of Emergency Physicians. She has been PI or Co-I over a dozen federally funded grants, all focused on technology-based interventions for high risk populations. Her work has been featured by dozens of media outlets ranging from MSNBC to the New York Times to Fox News.

  • Stephen W. Hargarten, MD, MPH

    Medical College of Wisconsin

    Emergency Medicine clinical practice for over 35 years
    Injury Prevention/Research scientist for over 30 years.
    Current focus on firearm related research including gun safety patents and wounding ballistics

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