Is Gun Violence A Public Health Problem? Highland Park Parade Shooting 1 Year Later Episode (with Garen Wintemute, MD, MPH)
Today’s episode marks exactly one year since since the mass shooting at the July 4th parade in Jeremy’s hometown of Highland Park, Illinois that killed seven people, injured many more.
Your Doctor Friends felt pretty strongly that we wanted to honor the day with an episode that would both help us, and hopefully help you learn more about gun violence and how to be part of the solution.
Thankfully, meaningful research exists to help us understand the unique gun violence situation in the US, and potentially what we can do to change its course.
Our expert today is THE INCOMPARABLE Garen Wintemute MD, MPH!
Dr. Wintemute is Distinguished Professor of Emergency Medicine and Baker–Teret Chair in Violence Prevention at the University of California, Davis.
He is the founding director of the Violence Prevention Research Program there and of the California Firearm Violence Research Center, the nation’s first publicly-funded center for research in this field. Trained initially as a biologist at Yale University, Dr. Wintemute attended medical school and residency at UC Davis and studied epidemiology and injury prevention at The Johns Hopkins University.
He practices and teaches emergency medicine at UC Davis Medical Center, a Level I trauma center, and is a public health leader in the world of violence prevention
Key highlights in this episode include:
Background in the history of gun violence in the US. Where are we now?
What makes the US unique in its struggle with gun violence?
What’s the history of legislation re: gun violence (including assault-type weapons) prevention?
Are there actually more mass shootings now than in previous years?
Does Chicago have more gun violence than other major cities? Why is Chicago so often highlighted?
What is the mental health toll that gun violence takes? How is this being addressed?
What can people do to make a difference in gun violence prevention?
Dr. Wintemute recommends the following resources to learn about gun violence prevention:
The “What Can You Do” Initiative via UC Davis Health.
The Violence Prevention Research Program at UC Davis (Dr. Wintemute is the founding director 🙂
Clinical tools for preventing firearm injuries at The BulletPoints Project.
For more episodes, limited edition merch, or to become a Friend of Your Doctor Friends (and more), follow this link!
Also, CHECK OUT AMAZING HEALTH PODCASTS on The Health Podcast Network
(For real, this network is AMAZING and has fantastic, evidence-based, honest health information, and we are so happy to partner with them!)
Find us at:
Website: yourdoctorfriendspodcast.com
Email: [email protected]
Call the DOCLINE on 312-380-5005 and leave us a message. We will listen and maybe even respond/play it on the show!
(Disclaimer: we will not answer specific medical questions or offer medical advice. Consult your healthcare professional with any and all personal health questions.)
Connect with us:
@your_doctor_friends (IG)
@JeremyAllandMD (IG, FB, Twitter)
@JuliaBrueneMD (IG)
@HealthPodNet (IG)
