• Stephanie L Bonne, Pina Violano, Thomas K Duncan, Peter A Pappas, Gerard A Baltazar, Linda A Dultz, Mary E Schroeder, Jeanette Capella, Michael Hirsh, Kristen Conrad-Schnetz, Rishi Rattan, John J Como, Sarah Jewell, and Marie L Crandall.
• Department of Surgery, Rutgers New Jersey Medical School, Newark, NJ.
• Ann. Surg. 2021 Aug 1; 274 (2): 298305298-305.

ObjectiveThe purpose of this review was to provide an evidence-based recommendation for community-based programs to mitigate gun violence, from the Eastern Association for the Surgery of Trauma (EAST).Summary Background DataFirearm Injury leads to >40,000 annual deaths and >115,000 injuries annually in the United States. Communities have adopted culturally relevant strategies to mitigate gun related injury and death. Two such strategies are gun buyback programs and community-based violence prevention programs.MethodsThe Injury Control and Violence Prevention Committee of EAST developed Population, Intervention, Comparator, Outcomes (PICO) questions and performed a comprehensive literature and gray web literature search. Using GRADE methodology, they reviewed and graded the literature and provided consensus recommendations informed by the literature.ResultsA total of 19 studies were included for analysis of gun buyback programs. Twenty-six studies were reviewed for analysis for community-based violence prevention programs. Gray literature was added to the discussion of PICO questions from selected websites. A conditional recommendation is made for the implementation of community-based gun buyback programs and a conditional recommendation for community-based violence prevention programs, with special emphasis on cultural appropriateness and community input.ConclusionsGun violence may be mitigated by community-based efforts, such as gun buybacks or violence prevention programs. These programs come with caveats, notably community cultural relevance and proper support and funding from local leadership.Level of Evidence: Review, Decision, level III.Copyright © 2021 Wolters Kluwer Health, Inc. All rights reserved.

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