Firearms Injuries Involving Young Children in the United States During the COVID-19 Pandemic

OBJECTIVES Increased rates of firearm ownership, school closures, and a suspected decrease in supervision during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic place young children at increased risk of firearm injuries. We measured trends in firearm injuries in children and inflicted by children d...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Pediatrics (Evanston) 2021-07, Vol.148 (1)
Main Authors: Cohen, Joanna S, Donnelly, Katie, Patel, Shilpa J, Badolato, Gia M, Boyle, Meleah D, McCarter, Robert, Goyal, Monika K
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Aggression
Children
Confidence intervals
Coronaviruses
COVID-19
Epidemics
Firearms
Health aspects
Injuries
Market trend/market analysis
Pandemics
Pediatric injuries
Pediatrics
Regression analysis
Social aspects
Trends
United States
Citations: Items that this one cites
Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:OBJECTIVES Increased rates of firearm ownership, school closures, and a suspected decrease in supervision during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic place young children at increased risk of firearm injuries. We measured trends in firearm injuries in children and inflicted by children discharging a firearm during the pandemic and correlated these changes with a rise in firearm acquisition. METHODS In this cross-sectional study with an interrupted time series analysis, we used multiyear data from the Gun Violence Archive. We compared trends in (1) firearm injuries in children younger than 12 years old and (2) firearm injuries inflicted by children younger than 12 years old during the pre-COVID-19 period (March to August in the years 2016–2019) and during the first 6 months of the COVID-19 pandemic (March 2020 to August 2020). Linear regression models were developed to evaluate the relationship between firearm injuries and new firearm acquisitions. RESULTS There was an increased risk of (1) firearm injuries in young children (relative risk = 1.90; 95% confidence interval 1.58 to 2.29) and (2) firearm injuries inflicted by young children (relative risk = 1.43; 95% confidence interval 1.14 to 1.80) during the first 6 months of the COVID-19 pandemic as compared to the pre-COVID-19 study period. These increased incidents correlate with an increase in new firearm ownership (P < .03). CONCLUSIONS There has been a surge in firearm injuries in young children and inflicted by young children during the first 6 months of the COVID-19 pandemic. There is an urgent and critical need for enactment of interventions aimed at preventing firearm injuries and deaths involving children.
ISSN:0031-4005
1098-4275
DOI:10.1542/peds.2020-042697