Media Contacts:
Arnice Cottom, APHA, 202-777-3913
Marianne Amoss, Bloomberg American Health Initiative, 443-600-0121
Washington, D.C., Sept. 12, 2019 – Sound, evidence-based policy solutions exist to address the nation’s epidemic of gun violence, and have been shown to effectively reduce firearm-related deaths and injuries. On Monday, Sept. 23, leading gun policy researchers will share and discuss those solutions at a half-day forum in Washington, D.C.
Policies That Work to Reduce Gun Violence — co-hosted by APHA and the Bloomberg American Health Initiative at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health — will examine the scientific data behind gun violence prevention policies. While more research is needed to fully address the U.S. epidemic of gun violence, implementing existing evidence-based interventions and policy solutions now can save lives and prevent harm.
FORUM AGENDA
In 2017 alone, there were 39,773 gun-related deaths in the U.S. Suicides by firearm, the most common form of gun-related death, have risen steadily since 1999. And the number of people killed or injured in public mass shootings has increased dramatically over the past decade.
Presentations and panel discussions during the forum will show how scientific evidence can inform solutions to the national epidemic of gun violence.
Speakers include Georges C. Benjamin, MD, APHA executive director; Carnell Cooper, MD, FACS, medical director at Northeast Methodist Hospital; Linda C. DeGutis, DrPH, adjunct professor at the Rollins School of Public Health; Joshua Sharfstein, MD, vice dean for public health practice and community engagement at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health; Daniel Webster, ScD, the Bloomberg professor of American health at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health; and April M. Zeoli, PhD, MPH, associate professor at Michigan State University School of Criminal Justice.
Policies That Work to Reduce Gun Violence will be held at the Knight Studio at the Newseum, 555 Pennsylvania Ave N.W. Use the C Street group entrance. The forum program runs from 8 a.m. to noon, with a continental breakfast beginning at 7 a.m.
The forum will be webcast at http://www.apha.org/gun-violence beginning at 8 a.m. EDT. APHA (@PublicHealth) and the Bloomberg American Health Initiative (@AmericanHealth) will also live tweet the event, using the hashtag #gunpoliciesthatwork.
Media are invited to cover the event and must register in advance. Speakers are available for interviews, which can be scheduled via media contacts.
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APHA champions the health of all people and all communities. We strengthen the public health profession. We speak out for public health issues and policies backed by science. We are the only organization that combines a nearly 150-year perspective, a broad-based member community and the ability to influence federal policy to improve the public's health. Visit us at www.apha.org.
ABOUT THE BLOOMBERG AMERICAN HEALTH INITIATIVE
Through education, research, and practice, the Bloomberg American Health Initiative aims to impact five challenges to the nation’s health: addiction and overdose, environmental challenges, obesity and the food system, risks to adolescent health, and violence. One part of the Initiative, the Bloomberg Fellows Program, offers full scholarships for MPH and DrPH degrees for individuals working on the front lines to advance health in the United States. The Initiative was founded with a gift from Bloomberg Philanthropies in honor of the centennial of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. Visit americanhealth.jhu.edu to learn more.