Emergency room doctor Garen Wintemute is one of a handful of US researchers brave enough to tackle the problem of gun violence. He tells Tiffany O'Callaghan why it is so hard to make inroads
Editorial: "Gun control: We need a new conversation"
How bad is gun violence in the US?
It takes upwards of 30,000 lives a year and injures another 75,000. We spend $100 billion a year on this problem, including the criminal justice system's efforts to prevent and punish.
Why is it so difficult to tackle?
Federal funding for research is less than $200,000 a year. In contrast, public health research on motor vehicle accidents – which also claim 30,000 lives each year – receives close to $4 million. So the data that might be used to identify patterns is simply not there.
Why is there so little money to research it?
This did not happen by accident, ...
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