Insights Blog

Insights is a collection of blog posts and published opinion pieces by the Centers for Violence Prevention faculty and staff.
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Championing the role of health system leadership in creating community safety

“Firearm violence is a pervasive and uniquely American problem.

Community EngagementClinical Approaches to Firearm Injury Prevention
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Op-Ed: Treating mental illness won't prevent mass shootings

“As the coronavirus pandemic begins to wane in the U.S., a number of public mass shootings have once again reminded us of the epidemic of gun violence in our country. The FedEx shooting in Indianapolis, the massage parlor shooting in Atlanta, and the Boulder supermarket shooting were only a few of the 160 mass shootings (defined as four or more people killed) in the first four months of 2021.

Clinical Approaches to Firearm Injury Prevention
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Basic needs come first

“As a psychiatrist, I’ve long known that helping people with their mental health often requires meeting their basic needs. During the pandemic, we started to do that..." Continue reading

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Coronavirus could make America’s gun problem even deadlier

“We studied 26 million Americans over 12 years. Here’s what we learned about gun ownership.” Continue reading

Clinical Approaches to Firearm Injury Prevention
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The hidden cost of COVID shutdowns

“Some leaders are calling for an end to stay-at-home orders to save the economy, while public health experts argue this will result in a surge of COVID deaths. The implication is that we have to choose between a financial crisis and a public health crisis, and that lives are more important than money. But economic crises are public health crises.

Clinical Approaches to Firearm Injury Prevention
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The killer in your closet

“Coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) has people around the world feeling vulnerable and scared. In America, individualism and firearm culture have generated a unique response to this threat: stockpiling firearms and ammunition.1 

Clinical Approaches to Firearm Injury PreventionFirearm Policies and Programs
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Should Trump be put on a mental health hold?

“A few days ago, Salon published an interview with psychiatrist Bandy Lee, who argued that Nancy Pelosi should put President Trump on an involuntary 72-hour mental health hold after he ordered a drone strike in Iraq. While there are plenty of reasons to see Trump’s presidency as a problem, this is the wrong approach to solving it.

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Protection-order legislation would protect Minnesotans from shootings

“People who knew him as a child described him as “odd” and, later, “disturbed.” Only after it happened did they use the word “scary.” As a teenager, he was picked on and teased for his sullen demeanor and his love of military gear. He lashed out, fighting with classmates and destroying property...” Continue reading

Firearm Policies and Programs
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The empty promise of suicide prevention

“Many of the problems that lead people to kill themselves cannot be fixed with a little extra serotonin...” Continue reading

Suicide and Self Harm
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Parenting in the age of school shootings

“The police picked him up from his high school after a terrified student told her principal he had threatened to slit her throat. She showed them his Instagram, where he had posted pictures of the Charleston Church shooter with the word “hero” underneath it, and a picture of their science lab with the caption “Columbine 2.0”.

Clinical Approaches to Firearm Injury PreventionHomicide

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