Is Gun Violence a Public Health Issue? These Nurse Researchers Think So.

• A nursing student and nursing professor from Marquette University are taking on gun violence and firearm safety as a public health issue.
•  The New York Times recently reported that child deaths related to gun violence are the equivalent of “52 school buses of children crashing each year.”
• Gun safety and gun violence are not the first advocacy issues for the nursing profession. SIDS, motor vehicle crashes, and poisoning are also issues that the industry became involved in to usher in legislative change.

Annual child deaths related to gun violence are now the equivalent of “52 school buses of children crashing each year,” according to the New York Times. 

This data analysis follows the announcement from Marquette University that a nursing professor and senior nursing student are studying the intersection of nursing, gun safety and advocacy. 

It also reinforces last year’s call to action on pediatric firearm safety in the Online Journal of Issues in Nursing, which noted that pediatric deaths and injuries due to firearms are “at a record high.”

“Nurses have widespread and unique opportunities to interact with the critical stakeholders of patients, families, communities, and local, state, and federal policies to create meaningful change in preventing firearms-related deaths,” wrote Catherine S. Schoenewald, Ph.D., APRN-CNP. “Nurses at all levels, from direct care registered nurses (RN) to APRNs, to nurse educators, researchers, and policymakers, are called to champion gun safety initiatives.” 

Research on Gun Violence and Public Health 

Dr. Christine Schindler, a clinical professor at Marquette University’s College of Nursing, and senior nursing student Madeline Macek want to bring advocacy around gun safety to the nursing profession. Their work isn’t in opposition to gun ownership but rather about “using and storing guns safely,” according to a university news release.

“People in pediatric nursing are seeing kids come into the hospital with gunshot wounds all the time,” Macek stated in the release. “I hear stories all the time about cases where a kid accidentally shot his or her sibling in the house because the gun wasn’t properly stored.”

Schindler’s research study is intended to increase “political consciousness and health policy advocacy among nurses around gun violence prevention issues.”

“We want Marquette nurses trained in both the technical competencies as well as the advocacy and public policy competencies; those two things are part of our professional obligation to protect public health,” Schindler said.  

What Can Nurses Do?

Schoenewald’s call to action cited several public health initiatives that put nurses at the forefront of legislative advocacy efforts, including pediatric deaths due to motor vehicle crashes, poisoning and sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS). 

Some nursing organizations, like the American Nurses Association, have viewed gun violence as a public health issue for decades. Last October, ANA reinforced its position by publicly agreeing with the American Academy of Nursing’s “Firearm Safety and Violence Prevention” position statement. State-level nursing associations also have condemned gun violence and urged nurses to educate the public about the effects of irresponsible gun usage.

From a treatment perspective, nurses “are responsible to provide life-saving and life-afforming care to injured youth and family,” according to a 2022 review in the journal “Pediatric Critical Care Clinicians.” This can incorporate trauma-informed care, along with social considerations like implicit bias and firearm injury prevention discussions.

“In this politicized environment of pro-firearm and anti-firearm diatribes, pediatric critical care clinicians bring an important perspective to the conversation because they deal daily with the human anguish of youth who sustain a gunshot wound,” the authors stated.

The Society of Pediatric Nurses also offers several resources for healthcare professionals, parents, and teachers when discussing the issue with children. 

The Bottom Line

Gun-related injuries and deaths among children in the United States have reached record levels. Some nursing advocacy groups have long held the belief that gun violence is a public health issue. At Marquette University, a nursing student and professor have doubled down on that stance through their own research initiative aimed at educating practitioners about pending legislation that could affect gun violence. 

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