Dialogue4Health has explored gun violence in previous Web Forums, and it can be a difficult and politically divisive conversation. Attempts have been made to use clearer language, reframe the problem, and find better political meeting ground, but there is ongoing debate about everything related to gun ownership and gun violence in America.
Properly conducted and appropriately funded research should be considered neutral: fact-finding is non-partisan. Despite that, there has been hesitation and outright refusal to collect data and perform research on guns and gun related violence. This has been shown most recently, when 32 members of the House Appropriations Committee voted to block the Centers for Disease Control from spending 11 million researching gun violence- a relatively paltry amount.
In short: Why don’t we have funding for the gun violence research that could help bring the two sides of this debate closer together? In anticipation of the upcoming Brady and APHA National Summit, please join APHA and Dialogue4Health for an in-depth discussion of that topic. We will explore:
- What is the underlying reason for resistance to research?
- Is it possible for researchers to be objective about their assessment/analysis of the issue?
- How can we streamline, combine, and find data sources to get better data about guns and violence?
- How can Web Forum listeners move this conversation forward? What specific steps can they take to advocate for better research and data?
Presenters
David Hemenway, PhD
Professor, Department of Health Policy and Management
Harvard School of Public Health
Boston, MA
- Director, Harvard Injury Control Research Center, Harvard School of Public Health, Boston, MA
David Hemenway, PhD, is an economist and Professor at Harvard School of Public Health and a former James Marsh Visiting Professor at Large at the University of Vermont. He is Director of the Harvard Injury Control Research Center and the Harvard Youth Violence Prevention Center. He received the Excellence in…
Alan Leshner, PhD
Chief Executive Officer Emeritus
American Association for the Advancement of Science
Washington, DC
Dr. Leshner has been Chief Executive Officer of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) and Executive Publisher of the journal Science since December 2001. AAAS was founded in 1848 and is the world's largest, multi-disciplinary scientific and engineering society. Before coming to AAAS, Dr. Leshner was Director…
Susan Polan, PhD
Associate Executive Director, Public Affairs and Advocacy
American Public Health Association
Washington, DC
Susan L. Polan, PhD, is associate executive director for public affairs and advocacy with the American Public Health Association. She oversees the Association's departments of government relations and affiliate affairs, communications and membership. She is responsible for planning and directing APHA's legislative, regulatory and legal activities, communicating those initiatives and…
Jeremy Richman, PhD
Founder, CEO
The Avielle Foundation
Newton, CT
All of us at Dialogue4Health are deeply saddened by the death of Jeremy Richman. We are grateful for Dr. Richman’s dedicated work to understand and prevent gun violence, and for his 2015 presentation to the Dialogue4Health audience.
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Moderator
Linda Degutis, DrPH
Consultant
LCD Consulting
Atlanta, GA
Linda Degutis, DrPH, MSN is a consultant specializing in policy, advocacy, and injury and violence prevention. Previously, she served as Director of the National Center for Injury Prevention and Control (NCIPC) at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). At NCIPC, Dr. Degutis led initiatives in preventing violence and…
Presentation Slides
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Gun Violence Research and Data Collection: Getting the Facts Straight
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David Hemenway | Gun Violence Research and Data Collection
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Alan Leshner, PhD | Toward A Gun Violence Public Health Research Agenda
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Susan Polan | Gun violence IS a public health issue
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Jeremy Richman | Preventing Violence & Building Compassion Through Brain Research and Education