Violent Death Rates: The United States Compared to other High-Income OECD Countries, 2010

Background: Violent death is a serious problem in the US. Previous research showing US rates of violent death compared with other high-income countries used data that are more than a decade old. Methods: We examined 2010 mortality data obtained from the WHO for populous, high-income countries (n=23). Death rates per 100,000 population were calculated for each country and for the aggregation of all non-US countries overall and by age and sex. Tests of significance were performed using Poisson and negative binomial regressions. Results: US homicide rates were 7.0 times higher than other high-income countries, driven by a gun homicide rate that was 25.2 times higher. For 15-24 year olds, the gun homicide rate in the US was 49.0 times higher. Firearm-related suicide rates were 8.0 times higher in the US but our overall suicide rates were average. Unintentional firearm deaths were 6.2 times higher in the US. The overall firearm death rate in the US from all causes was 10.0 times higher. Ninety percent of women, 91% of children aged 0-14, 92% of youth aged 15-24, and 82% of all people killed by firearms were from the US. Conclusion: The US has an enormous firearm problem compared to other high-income countries with much higher rates of homicide and firearm-related suicide. Compared to 2003 estimates, the US firearm death rate remains unchanged while firearm death rates in other countries fell. Thus, the already high relative rates of firearm homicide, firearm suicide and unintentional firearm death in the US compared to the other high-income countries rose between 2003 and 2010. Violent death is a serious public health problem in the United States. Among 15-24 year olds, homicide is the second leading cause of death and suicide is the third leading cause; for 25-34 year olds, suicide is the second leading cause and homicide the third leading cause of fatality, following unintentional injuries for both groups. The United States is known to have higher levels of violent death, particularly homicide, compared to other developed nations. While the US does not appear to have higher rates of non-lethal crime, our rates of lethal violence and especially gun violence are much higher than other high-income countries. There are many more guns and less strong gun laws in the US than in other developed nations. Almost two decades ago, a report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) used data from the early 1990s to compare the United States to other high-income countries in terms of violent death (i.e., suicide, homicide, firearm accidents) for children aged 5-14 years. In a previous article, we updated and expanded that comparison to examine all age groups and both sexes using 2003 data. These 2003 data are now more than a dozen years old. In this paper, we again update the data plus we provide country level data for each high-income nation and contrast the US levels of lethal violence for whites, who traditionally have lower homicide rates than non-whites in the US, with all citizens (i.e., whites and non-whites) of the other high-income nations

The Reply

The Reply. A letter to the editor in The American Journal of Medicine, Volume 129, Issue 8, 2016, Page e143 regarding Unintentional firearm deaths among children in the United States

Violent death rates in the US compared to those of the other high-income countries, 2015

Violence is a serious public health issue in the U.S. This research compares the US and other high-income countries in terms of violent death. we used data from the World Health Organization for populous, high-income countries. Data from CDC\u27s WISQARS and WONDER systems were used to assess mortality data among US white and non-white populations and in low-, medium-, and high-gun states in 2015. Death rates per 100,000 population were calculated overall, by age, and by sex. Poisson and negative binomial regression were used to test for significance. The homicide rate in the US was 7.5 times higher than the homicide rate in the other high-income countries combined, which was largely attributable to a firearm homicide rate that was 24.9 times higher. The overall firearm death rate was 11.4 times higher in the US than in other high-income countries. In this dataset, 83.7% of all firearm deaths, 91.7% of women killed by guns, and 98.1% of all children aged 0-4 years killed by guns were from the US. Firearm homicide rates were 36 times higher in high-gun US states and 13.5 times higher in low-gun US states than the firearm homicide rate in other high-income countries combined. The firearm homicide rate among the US white population was 12 times higher than the homicide rate in other high-income countries. The US firearm death rate increased between 2003 and 2015 and decreased in other high-income countries. The US continues to be an outlier among high-income countries with respect to firearm deaths

Policies to increase the social value of science and the scientist satisfaction. An exploratory survey among Harvard bioscientists.

Basic research in the biomedical field generates both knowledge that has a value per se regardless of its possible practical outcome and that has the potential to produce more practical benefits. Policies can increase the benefit potential to society of basic biomedical research by offering various kinds of incentives to basic researchers. In this paper we argue that soft incentives or “nudges” are particularly promising. However, to be well designed, these incentives must take into account the motivations, goals and views of the basic scientists. In the paper we present the results of an investigation that involved more than 300 scientists at Harvard Medical School and affiliated institutes. The study shows that basic researchers’ support for soft incentives is such that the transformative value of fundamental investigations can be increased without affecting the spirit of the basic research and scientists’ work satisfaction. After discussing the findings, we suggest a few examples of nudges and discuss one in more detail

Gun Carrying Among Adolescents

Outdoor education is a promising educational field that can support indoor education and provide benefits beyond the evidentknowledge. Outdoor and indoor education together can formulate the ground for an integrated learning. In Greece, like manycountries, outdoor education and its potential contribution to the learning process have not been clearly and intentionally testedyet, even though the country tends to follow a progressive educational philosophy. This research focuses on the subject ofmathematics and explores the connections between the existing philosophy and practices of mathematics education in Greece andoutdoor education theory and practice. Following the method of content analysis, the connections were identified through theexistence of basic outdoor education concepts in the mathematics textbooks of the last three grades of primary school. Althoughthe expectations, because of the lack of personal experiences, could not be high, the application of outdoor education seems to befar from impossible in Greece. It could rather flourish even without any changes in the books, when its potentialities are realizedby the teachers

Evaluation of the ASK (Asking Saves Kids) Campaign in Two Midwestern Cities

We implemented a year-long community-based campaign to encourage parents to ask about firearms in homes that their children visit, in a small Midwestern city. Along with community residents and local leaders, we disseminated campaign messages through multiple communication channels. To assess message recall, attitudes, and whether parents asked about firearms, we conducted pre- and posttest surveys with randomly sampled adults in the intervention city and in a neighboring city. The posttest survey showed that parents in the intervention city were concerned about the danger of firearms when their child visits a friend's home, suggesting that the campaign influenced their attitudes