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Call for papers: Gun violence epidemiology and prevention

Edited by :
Cassandra Crifasi, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, USA
David Hemenway, Harvard University, USA
Injury Epidemiology

© Ivan KokoulinGun violence is a major public health issue that is affecting the lives of individuals around the world and is the cause of more than 500 deaths and 2,000 injuries per day. However, the effects of gun violence are not evenly spread across the globe. Half of all gun-related deaths in 2016 occurred within only six countries, Brazil, the United States, Mexico, Venezuela, Colombia and Guatemala.  

In 2017, over 38,000 deaths and 80,000 injuries within the US occurred as a result of gun violence. This is far higher than any other OECD nation, and more Americans die from guns than from motor vehicle crashes.

Mass shootings, such as Sandy Hook, are the most visible form of gun violence; however, these account for a tiny proportion of all gun deaths. Other more prevalent forms of gun violence include suicides, homicides, unintentional deaths and serious injuries.

Gun violence prevention through sensible firearms policy remains a hot topic in the media, in the US Congress and in the forthcoming general election. This collection aims to bring together a selection of the latest research and developments surrounding gun violence and gun violence prevention.

Topics may include but are not limited to:

  • Domestic violence
  • Mass shootings
  • The long term health effects of gunshot wounds
  • The spatial patterns of injury incidence as a result of gun violence
  • The cost associated with firearm related injuries
  • The role of firearms in suicide

All articles that are submitted to this collection will undergo the journal’s normal peer review process and be subject to an article-processing charge. Manuscripts should be formatted according to our submission guidelines and submitted via the online submission system. In the submission system please make sure that the correct collection title is chosen at the 'Additional Information' step. Please also indicate clearly in the covering letter that the manuscript is to be considered for this collection. 

For further advice on what funding is available to you, or for guidance in approaching funders and institutions, please visit our funding page or contact OAfundingpolicy@springernature.com.  

This is an open-ended collection and articles will be accepted for on-going publication. 


  1. A growing body of research has found a link between firearm availability and police shootings of citizens across place. The problem, however, is that the previous studies on the topic tend to suffer from sever...

    Authors: John A. Shjarback, Daniel C. Semenza and Richard Stansfield
    Citation: Injury Epidemiology 2023 10:50
  2. Criminal legal system data are one source for measuring some types of firearm-related harms, including those that do not necessarily result in injury or death, but measurement can be hampered by imprecise crim...

    Authors: Julia P. Schleimer, Ayah Mustafa, Rachel Ross, Andrew Bowen, Amy Gallagher, Deirdre Bowen and Ali Rowhani-Rahbar
    Citation: Injury Epidemiology 2023 10:46
  3. Current conditions in the USA suggest an increasing risk for political violence. Little is known about the prevalence of beliefs that might lead to political violence, about support for and personal willingnes...

    Authors: Garen J. Wintemute, Sonia L. Robinson, Andrew Crawford, Daniel Tancredi, Julia P. Schleimer, Elizabeth A. Tomsich, Paul M. Reeping, Aaron B. Shev and Veronica A. Pear
    Citation: Injury Epidemiology 2023 10:45
  4. Rates of firearm suicide have increased among women Veterans. Discussing firearm access and reducing access to lethal means of suicide when suicide risk is heightened are central tenets of suicide prevention, ...

    Authors: Evan R. Polzer, Carly M. Rohs, Suzanne M. Thomas, Ryan Holliday, Christin N. Miller, Joseph A. Simonetti, Katherine M. Iverson, Lisa A. Brenner and Lindsey L. Monteith
    Citation: Injury Epidemiology 2023 10:39
  5. Fatal and nonfatal shootings by police are a public health issue that warrants additional research. Prior research has documented associations between fatal shootings by police and gun ownership, legislative s...

    Authors: Cassandra K. Crifasi, Julie Ward, Alex D. McCourt, Daniel Webster and Mitchell L. Doucette
    Citation: Injury Epidemiology 2023 10:28
  6. Firearm injuries are the leading cause of mortality among children and adolescents 1–19 years old in the USA. Many prior studies on this topic lack detailed information about the circumstances of the firearm f...

    Authors: Arti Vaishnav, Gary A. Smith, Jaahnavi Badeti and Nichole L. Michaels
    Citation: Injury Epidemiology 2023 10:25
  7. Suicide is a pressing public health problem, and firearm owners are at especially elevated risk. Certain health conditions are markers of suicide risk, but more research is needed on clinical risk markers for ...

    Authors: Julia P. Schleimer, Rose M. C. Kagawa and Hannah S. Laqueur
    Citation: Injury Epidemiology 2023 10:26
  8. Living near an incident of firearm violence can negatively impact youth, regardless of whether the violence is experienced firsthand. Inequities in household and neighborhood resources may affect the prevalenc...

    Authors: Amanda J. Aubel, Angela Bruns, Xiaoya Zhang, Shani Buggs and Nicole Kravitz-Wirtz
    Citation: Injury Epidemiology 2023 10:24
  9. Temporary, voluntary storage of firearms away from the home is a recommended option for individuals with risk of suicide, but it may also be used in other situations (e.g., long trips). Prior work has explored...

    Authors: Leslie M. Barnard, Rachel L. Johnson, Sara Brandspigel, Lauren A. Rooney, Megan McCarthy, Frederick P. Rivara, Ali Rowhani-Rahbar, Christopher E. Knoepke, Ryan A. Peterson and Marian E. Betz
    Citation: Injury Epidemiology 2023 10:15
  10. Firearm fatalities are a major public health concern, claiming the lives of 40,000 Americans each year. While firearm fatalities have pervasive effects, it is unclear how social determinants of health (SDOH) s...

    Authors: Abdul R. Shour, Ronald Anguzu, Yuhong Zhou, Alice Muehlbauer, Adedayo Joseph, Tinuola Oladebo, David Puthoff and Adedayo A. Onitilo
    Citation: Injury Epidemiology 2023 10:14
  11. Firearms are a substantial cause of injury-related morbidity and mortality in Canada and globally, though evidence from contexts other than the USA is relatively limited. We examined deaths, hospitalizations a...

    Authors: Stephanie Toigo, Nathaniel J. Pollock, Li Liu, Gisèle Contreras, Steven R. McFaull and Wendy Thompson
    Citation: Injury Epidemiology 2023 10:10
  12. Firearm suicide is a significant public health problem in the United States of America among the general and veteran populations. Broad-based preventive strategies, including lethal means safety, have been emp...

    Authors: Claire Houtsma, Jeffrey Powers, Amanda M. Raines, Matthew Bailey, Catherine Barber and Gala True
    Citation: Injury Epidemiology 2023 10:3
  13. The CDC recently reported that firearm homicide rates in the United States increased in 2020, particularly among Black/African American individuals and men 25–44 years old. It is unclear whether firearm hospit...

    Authors: Paula D. Strassle, Jamie S. Ko, Madison Ponder, Anna María Nápoles, Alan C. Kinlaw and Sharon E. Schiro
    Citation: Injury Epidemiology 2023 10:2
  14. Suicide is the tenth leading cause of death in the United States, with over half of cases involving firearms. Despite research indicating negative effects of exposure to suicide, there is little research on wh...

    Authors: Leslie M. Barnard, Colton Leavitt, Talia L. Spark, Jacob B. Leary and Erik A. Wallace
    Citation: Injury Epidemiology 2022 9:45
  15. Although gun owners overwhelmingly support violence prevention policies, they are hesitant to speak up publicly to advocate for these policies. We tested a series of communication messages on gun owners’ level...

    Authors: Claire Boine, Michael Siegel and Abdine Maiga
    Citation: Injury Epidemiology 2022 9:30
  16. Temporary, voluntary storage of firearms away from the home during times of risk is a recommended strategy for suicide prevention. Law enforcement agencies (LEAs) are often suggested as storage sites, and onli...

    Authors: Marian E. Betz, Sara Brandspigel, Leslie M. Barnard, Rachel L. Johnson, Christopher E. Knoepke, Ryan A. Peterson, Frederick P. Rivara and Ali Rowhani-Rahbar
    Citation: Injury Epidemiology 2022 9:24
  17. Suicide is the second most common cause of death among adolescents and young adults. In the pediatric population, gunshot wounds (GSWs) and hangings are common mechanisms of pediatric suicide. Comorbid psychia...

    Authors: Christina M. Theodorou, Kaeli J. Yamashiro, Sarah C. Stokes, Edgardo S. Salcedo, Shinjiro Hirose and Alana L. Beres
    Citation: Injury Epidemiology 2022 9:13
  18. Police shootings are unevenly spatially distributed, with substantive spikes throughout the USA. While minorities are disproportionately the victims of police force, social or structural factors associated wit...

    Authors: Timothy F. Leslie, Cara L. Frankenfeld and Angela J. Hattery
    Citation: Injury Epidemiology 2022 9:8
  19. Little is known about voluntary divestment of firearms among US firearm owners. Here, we aim to estimate the proportion of handgun owners who divest their handguns in the years following their initial acquisit...

    Authors: Sonja A. Swanson, Matthew Miller, Yifan Zhang, Lea Prince, Erin E. Holsinger, Zachary Templeton and David M. Studdert
    Citation: Injury Epidemiology 2022 9:2
  20. Research on violence exposure emphasizes discrete acute events such as direct and witnessed victimization. Little is known about the broad range of experiences of violence (EVs) in daily life. This study asses...

    Authors: Garen J. Wintemute, Amanda J. Aubel, Rocco Pallin, Julia P. Schleimer and Nicole Kravitz-Wirtz
    Citation: Injury Epidemiology 2022 9:1
  21. Inter-related sustained upward trends in firearm purchasing, violence, and political extremism are converging to put the USA at risk for disaster and threaten our future as a democracy. This narrative review p...

    Authors: Garen J. Wintemute
    Citation: Injury Epidemiology 2021 8:64
  22. Extreme Risk Protection Orders (ERPOs) are a relatively new type of law that are being considered or implemented in many states in the United States. Colorado’s law went into effect on January 1, 2020, after s...

    Authors: Leslie M. Barnard, Megan McCarthy, Christopher E. Knoepke, Sabrina Kaplan, James Engeln and Marian E. Betz
    Citation: Injury Epidemiology 2021 8:59
  23. Suicide is complex, with psychiatric, cultural, and socioeconomic roots. Though mental illnesses like depression contribute to risk for suicide, access to lethal means such as firearms is considered a key risk...

    Authors: Rocco Pallin and Amy Barnhorst
    Citation: Injury Epidemiology 2021 8:57
  24. Unstably housed women experience high levels of violence. While previous studies have investigated psychological, physical, and sexual violence, weapon and gun violence are rarely delineated. We examined facto...

    Authors: Rose M. C. Kagawa and Elise D. Riley
    Citation: Injury Epidemiology 2021 8:52
  25. Multi-victim homicides are a persistent public health problem confronting the United States. Previous research shows that homicide rates in the U.S. are approximately seven times higher than those of other hig...

    Authors: Katherine A. Fowler, Rachel A. Leavitt, Carter J. Betz, Keming Yuan and Linda L. Dahlberg
    Citation: Injury Epidemiology 2021 8:49
  26. We discuss barriers to recruitment, retention, and intervention delivery in a randomized controlled trial (RCT) of patients presenting with firearm injuries to a Level 1 trauma center. The intervention was ada...

    Authors: Anthony S. Floyd, Vivian H. Lyons, Lauren K. Whiteside, Kevin P. Haggerty, Frederick P. Rivara and Ali Rowhani-Rahbar
    Citation: Injury Epidemiology 2021 8:37
  27. There has been concern about the risk of suicide among veterans returning from deployment to Afghanistan and Iraq as part of Operation Enduring Freedom, Operation Iraqi Freedom, and Operation New Dawn (OEF/OIF...

    Authors: Tim Bullman and Aaron Schneiderman
    Citation: Injury Epidemiology 2021 8:40
  28. Off-the-books, untraceable “ghost guns” can now be manufactured at home, easily, and in large numbers; they contribute ever more frequently to firearm violence, including hate violence and domestic terrorism. ...

    Authors: Garen J. Wintemute
    Citation: Injury Epidemiology 2021 8:13
  29. No previous study has identified the specific brands of guns owned by gun owners. This study aimed to: (1) ascertain and describe patterns of brand- and model-specific gun ownership among US gun owners; and (2...

    Authors: Michael Siegel, Devon Dunn, Faizah Shareef, Miriam Neufeld and Claire Boine
    Citation: Injury Epidemiology 2021 8:12
  30. Comprehensive state firearm policies related to intimate partner violence (IPV) may have a significant public health impact on non-lethal IPV-related injuries. Research indicates that more restrictive firearm ...

    Authors: Tiara C. Willie, Trace Kershaw, Rachel Perler, Amy Caplon, Marina Katague and Tami P. Sullivan
    Citation: Injury Epidemiology 2021 8:8
  31. The prevalence and characteristics of handgun purchasers’ criminal charge histories have never been described for a large population of firearm owners, but such information is critical to understanding risk fa...

    Authors: Veronica A. Pear, Mona A. Wright, Aaron B. Shev, Garen J. Wintemute and Rose M. C. Kagawa
    Citation: Injury Epidemiology 2021 8:7
  32. Due to the differences in the way gun law permissiveness scales were created and speculation about the politically motivated underpinnings of the various scales, there have been questions about their reliability.

    Authors: Paul M. Reeping, Christopher N. Morrison, Kara E. Rudolph, Monika K. Goyal and Charles C. Branas
    Citation: Injury Epidemiology 2021 8:2
  33. Educational achievement, particularly among youth, may mitigate risk of exposure to violence and negative related health outcomes such as crime and gang activity. Few studies to date have examined relationship...

    Authors: Michael J. C. Bray, Mary E. Boulos, Galen Shi, Kevin MacKrell and Paul S. Nestadt
    Citation: Injury Epidemiology 2020 7:20