WIP 109 - The epidemiology of non-powdered firearm injuries: A scoping review.

Poster Number: WIP 109
Publication Number: WIP 109.2533

Background: Injuries from non-powdered firearms (NPFs) are an underrecognized public health issue and lead to significant morbidity and mortality. Children and youth are disproportionately impacted by NPF injuries due to their marketing as “toys,” lack of legislation and policies regulating their sale, transport, and use, and their developmental immaturity. To inform the development of injury prevention strategies, it is essential to understand the epidemiologic scope of NPF injuries.

Objective: Our aim was to describe rates of and characterize NPF injuries, and associated morbidity and mortality across Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) countries and highlight gaps in our understanding of the epidemiology this problem.

Design/Methods: We performed a scoping review to identify studies and reports of any design describing population-based estimates of NPF injuries, and/or associated morbidity or mortality. We searched MEDLINE, EMBASE, the Cochrane library, Web of Science, Scopus, and Criminal Justice Abstracts databases. To identify grey literature, we undertook an extensive search using Google Search engine and an a priori determined list of relevant, targeted websites. Reference lists of included articles were also screened. Case reports and case series studies, ballistics investigations, and experimental or animal studies were excluded. Title, abstract, and full-text screening were performed by two independent reviewers, as was data abstraction. Key abstracted variables included study and population characteristics, rates of injury, and intent and severity of injury. Results were synthesized descriptively by region and by population age. Ethics board approval was not required as this is a scoping review of published data.

Results: To be completed by December 2023.

Conclusions: Measuring rates of NPF injuries across jurisdictions with varying legislative and regulatory approaches will help inform the development of effective prevention strategies.