Firearm-Related Deaths
Goal
By 2029, reduce firearm-related death rate from the baseline of 14.3 deaths per 100,000 people to below the HP2030 target of 11.9 deaths per 100,000 people.
Firearm-related injuries are a major cause of death in the United States. Firearm-related deaths include suicides, homicides, unintentional deaths, those related to legal intervention or war, or deaths with undetermined intent. Comprehensive state- and community-level prevention strategies are key to reduce and prevent firearm-related deaths. On average, three Virginians died by firearm every day from 2016 to 2021. A total of 6,532 Virginians died by firearm from 2016 to 2021, resulting in an average of 1,088 deaths each year. Firearm-related deaths increased 21% from 2019 to 2021. Most deaths by firearm in 2016 to 2021 were suicide (62%), followed by homicide (35%). Firearm-related homicide deaths increased 47% from 2019 to 2021 (342 to 502 deaths); firearm-related suicide deaths increased 7% during the same period (662 to 707 deaths).
Strategies
Develop and disseminate firearm injury data products (e.g., firearm injuries/firearm-related deaths dashboards, firearm injuries data brief, etc.).
Establish health care provider education to improve coding of intent for emergency department visits and hospitalizations.
Complete one evaluation framework and logic model pertaining to firearm injury prevention strategies, using CDC program evaluation methodologies and best practices.
Strategies
Create two program roadmaps (unintentional and intentional) to address preventing firearm-related deaths.
Conduct an inventory of all firearm-related safe storage/injury prevention legislation and compile legislative content into a web-based based tool to be utilized to inform injury prevention practices.
Lock & Talk is a statewide suicide prevention initiative that strives to promote safe care of lethal means and encourages community conversation around mental wellness.
Counseling on Access to Lethal Means is a free, self-paced, online course for health care and social services providers.
Promote the dissemination of safe storage education through a variety of communication channels, media outlets, and partnerships.
Implement American Academy of Pediatrics and CDC core elements recommendations to achieve measurable improvements in pediatric health care provider screening, assessment, and referral for firearm injury risk, in partnership with health care provider associations.
Establish a Virginia Safe Storage map to help community members locate firearm storage resources statewide.
Strategies
Provide prevention education to parents, caregivers, educators, and youth about suicide and reducing access to lethal means.
Collaborate with diverse, multi-sectoral partners to implement interventions across the Social Ecological Model to influence social determinants at many levels, such as those impacting families, entire communities, or the larger public.
Provide training in Youth Mental Health First Aid to organizations that work with youth, such as schools, health care providers, and community-based organizations.
Promote suicide prevention hotlines, such as the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline, Veterans Crisis Line, the Trevor Project, the Crisis Text Line, and 988.