Firearm-related research articles in health sciences by funding status and type: A scoping review

Abstract

Highlights Federal restrictions have impacted funding for firearm-related research. We know little about the funding landscape for this research in the health sciences. A smaller proportion of articles reported funding in 2019 compared to 2000. Despite an increase in volume of publications, funding limitations still exist.

Challenges, Successes, and the Future of Firearm Injury Prevention

“…Although published empirical research on firearm injury has more than tripled since 2000, the amount of research as measured by the number of articles reporting funding is 30% lower in 2019 than in 2000 and only represents about 0.0006% of total published research in PubMed 65 . One reason for the limited research is that we have limited data with strong study designs, samples, and data collected.…”

“…Even though funding for firearm injury prevention research and programming has been inadequate to address the burden of firearm injury and death, there have been some successes, including funding from private sources and increased federal funding in recent years. Local and state governments, foundations, and academic institutions have filled some of the deficit left by the decades of limited federal funding 65 . Gurrey and colleagues found that over 50% of firearm research publications published between January 2000 and December 2019 were funded by philanthropic sources 65 .…”

“…Firearm injury prevention research receives only 1.6% of the predicted federal funding commensurate with other leading causes of mortality and morbidity for all age groups 65 and only 3.3% of the predicted federal funding spending for pediatric populations 63 . This deficit has led to not only a lack of research, publications, and evidence‐based solutions to this health problem but also a limited field of trainees and researchers in this space 63–69 …”

“…Only three major NIH awards focused on the prevention of firearm injury were awarded between 1973 and 2012, 68 compared with over 300 awards for diphtheria, polio, cholera, and rabies, which together account for less than 0.07% of the fatalities seen by firearms in the United States during the same period 87,88 . CDC funding for firearm‐related research fell by 96% from 1997 to 2012 65 . The National Institute of Justice continued to fund firearm violence prevention research; however, the National Institute of Justice has a comparatively smaller research budget than the NIH and CDC have.…”

“…63 This deficit has led to not only a lack of research, publications, and evidence-based solutions to this health problem but also a limited field of trainees and researchers in this space. [63][64][65][66][67][68][69] Firearm injuries were first recognized as a public health problem in the 1980s, after the release of several studies applying the public health approach to firearm injury. [71][72][73][74][75] This led many professional organizations to call for firearm injuries to receive both further research and federal funding for that research.…”