Surgeons from Massachusetts General Hospital Express Support for Research on Firearm Violence 

1. Pediatric surgeons from Massachusetts General Hospital promote research funding to address the current public health crisis of gun violence in a special commentary published in the New England Journal of Medicine. 

Rundown: In their commentary piece, “The Quiet Room,” surgeons Drs. Peter T. Masiakos and Cornelia Griggs discuss the continued public health crisis of firearm violence and highlight the need for continued evaluation of the scale of this issue in order to create effective prevention strategies. The authors discuss the personal experience of delivering the news of a child’s death in the context of recent mass shootings throughout the United States. They convey that these events are akin to other national and international epidemics, but emphasize the lack of government funding geared toward investigations of gun violence. They note the restrictions placed on the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in evaluating gun violence following the passage of the Dickey Amendment in 1996. In addition, the authors write about the American Academy of Pediatrics’ stance on addressing this issue through the prioritization of mental health service accessibility, firearm legislation, and protecting the ability for physicians to provide anticipatory guidance regarding gun safety. 

Peter T. Masiakos, MD talks to 2 Minute Medicine®:

“As a society, we often address health care problems after they occur. It is clearly preferable to prevent injuries rather than to treat them. Prevention will not only lessen the tolls on victims, health care providers, and healthcare systems, but will also provide cost savings that could be applied to other pressing health care needs.  As physicians, we must act now to advocate for firearm-related injury prevention.  We must stand front and center to address the gun-violence epidemic that is indiscriminate of race, age, creed, gender, and sexual identity.”

Click to read the commentary, published in the New England Journal of Medicine 

NOTE: This is a report of a commentary published in a peer-reviewed medical journal that is of interest to the general public. As with any opinion, it does not necessarily reflect the views of 2 Minute Medicine or the 2 Minute Medicine editors. Please refer to the original article, published by Masiakos and Griggs, for their commentary.

Image: PD 

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