The 130th Annual Meeting of APHA

Abstract #43074

Matt Miller, MD, ScD¹, Deborah Azrael, PhD², and David Hemenway, PhD². (1) Health Policy and Management, Harvard School of Public Health, 677 Huntington Avenue, 3rd Floor, Boston, MA 02115, 617-432-1439, mmiller@hsph.harvard.edu, (2) Health Policy and Management, Harvard University, 677 Huntington Avenue, Boston, MA 02115

Objectives: To explore the relationship between rates of firearm ownership and homicide victimization across the United States, by age groups. Methods: Pooled cross-sectional time-series data (1988-1997) were used to estimate the association between rates of household firearm ownership and homicide. Results: For the U.S. as a whole, in regional and state-level analyses, a robust association exists between rates of household firearm ownership and homicide victimization. Regionally, the association exists for 5-14 year olds and adults 35 and over. At the state level, the association exists for every age group over age 5, even after controlling for poverty, urbanization, unemployment, alcohol consumption and non-lethal violent crime. Conclusion: Although our study does not provide information about causation, we find that where firearm ownership levels are higher a disproportionately large number of people die from homicide.

Learning Objectives: At the conclusion of the session, the participant (learner) in this session will be able to

1.Describe the relationship between rates of firearm ownership in the U.S. and rates of homicide across age groups and gender.
• Identify the limitations in measuring firearm ownership rates at the state and regional level
• Discuss the rationale for and evaluate the validity of using the percentage of suicdes due to firearms as a proxy of household firearm ownership levels

Keywords: Homicide, Firearms

Presenting author's disclosure statement:
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.