Barbara Katzman
215-351-2513 or 800-523-1546, ext. 2513
Kathleen Haddad
202-393-1650
MEDIA ADVISORY Firearm Injury Prevention
WHAT: Firearm injury is a serious public health threat that needs to be addressed by physicians. A press briefing is scheduled to introduce both a major survey of internists and surgeons and a position paper by the American College of Physicians (ACP) that discuss this issue in depth. Meet the authors in a face-to-face discussion of this vital and timely topic.
WHERE/WHEN: National Press Club, First Amendment Lounge
14th and F Streets, NW, Washington, D.C.
Wednesday, January 28, 1998
Noon: A light lunch will be served
12:30 Program
WHY: Hardly a day goes by that we do not hear of a tragic shooting in a school, neighborhood or workplace. A newly published survey finds that a majority of internists and surgeons strongly believe that gun violence is a public health threat that necessitates counseling patients on handgun safety as well as support by physicians of community and legislative action to reduce firearm injuries. The Feb. 1 issue of Annals of Internal Medicine contains three entries on gun violence: an ACP position paper, "Firearm Injury Prevention"; an editorial, "Reframing Gun Violence" by Frank Davidoff, MD; and "Internists' and Surgeons' Attitudes toward Guns and Firearm Injury Prevention," a discussion of a the survey.
The survey of the membership of ACP and the American College of Surgeons found:
-- 94% of internists and 87% of surgeons believe firearm violence is a major public health issue
-- 84% of internists and 72% of surgeons believe doctors should be involved in firearm injury prevention
-- 84% of internists and 64% of surgeons agree that physicians should be involved in community efforts that address firearm violence WHO: Christine K. Cassel, MD, Professor and Chairman, Department of Geriatrics and Adult Development, Mount Sinai Medical Center, N.Y., ACP immediate past president and member of the President's Advisory Commission on Consumer Protection and Quality in the Health Care Industry
Frank Davidoff, MD, Editor, Annals of Internal Medicine
Deborah Leff, President, Joyce Foundation, Chicago, co-funder of the survey
George Zitnay, PhD, President and CEO, Brain Injury Association, Alexandria, Va., co-funder of the survey
# # #
RSS