--- title: "Pediatrics Group Launches Gun Violence Research Initiative" id: "41906" type: "post" slug: "pediatrics-group-launches-gun-violence-research-initiative" published_at: "2018-03-21T20:55:47+00:00" modified_at: "2026-11-09T16:05:58+00:00" url: "https://associationsnow.com/2018/03/21/pediatrics-group-launches-gun-violence-research-initiative/" markdown_url: "https://associationsnow.com/2018/03/21/pediatrics-group-launches-gun-violence-research-initiative.md" excerpt: "The American Academy of Pediatrics announced it would fund new research into how gun violence affects children, a move that comes at a time when gun violence is in the news—and the federal government has effectively avoided research into the..." taxonomy_category: - "Advocacy" taxonomy_post_tag: - "AssociationsNow" - "gun violence" - "Leadership" - "pediatrics" - "public health" taxonomy_content_format: - "Article" taxonomy_role: - "Association CEO / Executive Director" - "Director" - "Executive Team" taxonomy_persona: - "Executive Leadership" --- [Home](https://associationsnow.com/) » [Articles](https://associationsnow.com/format/article/) » Pediatrics Group Launches Gun Violence Research Initiative Amid sustained public debate over gun violence since the [school shooting in Parkland, Florida](https://associationsnow.com/2018/02/association-helps-schools-see-warning-signs-gun-violence/) , last month—and as news broke of yet another shooting this week [Great Mills, Maryland (opens in a new tab)](https://www.nytimes.com/2018/03/20/us/shooting-school-maryland.html) —the American Academy of Pediatrics is launching a new initiative to find ways to prevent children from being injured by firearms. The project will have three components: a summit of experts that will analyze existing data, a research study, and the implementation of ensuing recommendations in both clinical and community settings. “Approaching these injuries as a public health epidemic, the Gun Safety and Injury Prevention Research Initiative will bring together experts from around the country to study and implement evidence-based interventions,” [AAP said in a news release (opens in a new tab)](http://www.aappublications.org/news/2018/03/16/guninitiative031618) announcing the plan. AAP research could help fill a void created when Congress directed, in a 1996 appropriations bill, that [the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (opens in a new tab)](https://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2018/02/gun-violence-public-health/553430/) could not use use its federal funding to “advocate or promote gun control.” The measure effectively neutered public health research into gun violence, even after President Barack Obama [issued an executive order (opens in a new tab)](https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/storyline/wp/2015/01/14/why-the-cdc-still-isnt-researching-gun-violence-despite-the-ban-being-lifted-two-years-ago/?utm_term=.4ccafeda4012) allowing such research to continue. While the CDC collects gun violence statistics, [as it did last year (opens in a new tab)](http://pediatrics.aappublications.org/content/early/2017/06/15/peds.2016-3486) for firearm injuries involving children, the agency avoids further analysis of the data. AAP says it is responding to calls from members for more action on gun violence. “On a daily basis, our members see firsthand the pain caused by firearms, whether by homicide, suicide, or unintentional injuries,” said Dr. Colleen A Kraft, AAP’s president, in the news release. “However, just like any other risk to children, a focus on prevention and education by pediatricians in clinical settings, coupled with strong public policy which reduces access to firearms, can have a measurable and lasting positive impact.” AAP’s Friends of Children and Tomorrow’s Children Endowment funds will provide $500,000 in initial funding for the initiative, and the academy has pledged further fundraising to support it. (sshepard/iStock/Getty Images Plus) [Ernie Smith](https://associationsnow.com/author/ernie-smith/) Ernie Smith is a former senior editor for Associations Now. 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