Photo by Mart Production via pexels.

Editor’s note: We are making this article available in the wake of the Texas school shooting and because of the uptick in gun violence in the U.S. 

In the wake of the horrific shooting at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas, on Tuesday that took the lives of at least 19 children and two teachers, and the recent racially motivated Buffalo massacre that killed 10 people at a supermarket, it has become increasingly clear that gun violence should be reframed as a public health issue.

This topic was covered in detail during the “Reframing gun violence as a public health issue” panel at Health Journalism 2022 in Austin last month, moderated by Joanne Kenen, Commonwealth Fund Journalist in Residence at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.

The panel highlighted recent Pew Research Center data that showed 2020 marked the highest number on record of gun deaths in the United States; approximately 45,222 people died from gun-related injuries. Although suicide accounts for about 60% of gun deaths in any given year, the total from 2020 was driven by a 35% increase in homicides compared to the previous year.

Panelists encouraged journalists to take a public health approach to gun violence, not just a law enforcement one. “We can’t arrest our way out of a problem,” said Cassandra Crifasi, assistant professor at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and an expert on the topic. “Often, arresting people contributes to the perpetuation of these problems.”

“We’re spending a lot of time rescuing people who fall out of the boat, and that’s fine. But a public health approach would say, let’s also fix the railing so people don’t fall off the boat in the first place” she added.

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Alexa Haverlah is a graduate student at The University of Texas at Austin School of Journalism and Media. She’s passionate about challenging the negative news bias and sharing stories of progress and collaboration. In her free time, she enjoys singing and traveling.

Cedric Dark, M.D., M.P.H., F.A.C.E.P. (to the right), speaking with an attendee at Health Journalism 2022.

During the “Reframing gun violence as a public health issue” panel at Health Journalism 2022 in Austin, moderator and Commonwealth Fund Journalist in Residence at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health Joanne Kenen asked attendees, “How many of you have been affected by gun violence?” About half of them raised their hands.

“Okay, that was a trick question,” Kenen said. “All of you should have raised your hands because even if you haven’t been directly impacted by gun violence yourself, we are all being affected by gun violence.”

According to recent Pew Research Center data, 2020 marked the highest number on record of gun deaths in the United States; approximately 45,222 people died from gun-related injuries. Although suicide accounts for about 60% of gun deaths in any given year, the total from 2020 was driven by a 35% increase in homicides from the previous year to more than 19,000.

Panelists encouraged journalists to take a public health approach to gun violence, not just a law enforcement one. “We can’t arrest our way out of a problem,” said Cassandra Crifasi, assistant professor at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and an expert on this topic. “Often, arresting people contributes to the perpetuation of these problems.”

“We’re spending a lot of time rescuing people who fall out of the boat, and that’s fine. But a public health approach would say, let’s also fix the railing so people don’t fall off the boat in the first place” she added.

Continue reading →

Alexa Haverlah is a graduate student at The University of Texas at Austin School of Journalism and Media. She’s passionate about challenging the negative news bias and sharing stories of progress and collaboration. In her free time, she enjoys singing and traveling.