From Personal Choice to Public Health - Essay Sample

How Shifting the Discussion From Personal Choice to Public Health Help Reframe the Argument for Supporting Gun Violence Research

Shifting the discussion from personal choice to public health help reframe the argument for supporting gun violence research in the sense that this shifting helps in revealing some of the main public health organizations that have been researching about gun violence and their efforts in trying to reduce the many deaths that result from gun violence. Some examples of public health organizations that have been researching about gun violence are the World Health Organization (WHO), the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and the National Institutes of Health (NIH). These health organizations have been trying their best to research and fund other researchers that seek to get the statistics of the number of deaths and other negative consequences that result from gun violence. Unfortunately, their efforts to get accurate statistical data have not been successful as there are many parties that strongly oppose their research since this research will enlighten the public about gun violence and may consequently force the concerned authorities to take stricter measures to regulate gun ownership.

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The policy-level interventions that are being implemented in some states to prevent gun-related injuries and deaths.

There are various policy-level interventions that are being implemented in some states to prevent gun-related injuries and deaths. Some of these policy-level interventions include the formulation of some laws to regulate gun ownership and gun use, the establishment of some gun-free zones where people are not supposed to go with their guns, and introduction of some discernment programs where people are educated about gun use and advised to always make the right judgments before using their guns which have detrimental consequences (Pallin et al., 2019). More interventions that are very helpful in preventing gun-related injury and deaths are the establishment of some community-based gun safety programs to educate the members of the community about gun usage and their safety, the introduction of some public safety education and awareness campaigns, introduction of community policing in different societies, introduction of some hospital-based violence prevention programs, among many other interventions (American Academy of Pediatrics, 2017). These policy-level interventions work in most states. The evidence of the working of these interventions is the reduction in the number of injuries and deaths reported in some states in the last few years. The number of annual injuries and deaths in some states has been reducing gradually, which proves that these interventions are effective, and if they continue to be implemented, they will be very helpful to the states using them.

How Nurses Can Advocate for a Reduction in Gun Violence

Nurses are among the social workers who interact with very many people in their society. They interact with patients and the people who take care of these patients in and out of hospitals' environments. Since nurses interact with very many members of the community, they can be very effective in advocating for a reduction in gun violence (McDaniel, Logan, & Schneiderman, 2014). When interacting with these people in and out of the hospital environment, nurses can always educate them about their safety and advise them to always be safe and avoid using their guns (those with guns) recklessly, which has many deadly impacts. Nurses, with the help of hospital management and other concerned national and international bodies, can also organize some public gatherings and campaigns where they can educate the members of the public about safety and discourage gun violence (Nelson, 2017). This way, the nurses will have advocated for a reduction in gun violence.

References

American Academy of Pediatrics. (2017). Firearm-Related Injuries and Preventions. American Academy of Pediatrics.

McDaniel, D. D., Logan, J. E., & Schneiderman, J. U. (2014). Supporting gang violence prevention efforts: a public health approach for nurses. Online Journal of Issues in Nursing, 19(1).

Nelson, R. (2017). Can health care professionals do anything about gun violence? AJN The American Journal of Nursing, 117(5), 18-19.

Pallin, R., Spitzer, S. A., Ranney, M. L., Betz, M. E., & Wintemute, G. J. (2019). Preventing firearm-related death and injury. Annals of Internal Medicine, 170(11), ITC81-ITC96.