NCJ Number
148075
Journal
Health Affairs Volume: 12 Issue: 4 Dated: special issue (Winter 1993) Pages: 142-153
Date Published
1993
Length
12 pages
Annotation
The author discusses six formidable obstacles to research on firearms and the prevention of violence.
Abstract
The obstacles are: 1) inadequate funding; 2) an inadequate pool of experienced researchers; 3) critical gaps in available data; 4) fatalistic attitudes about violence prevention; 5) barriers to interdisciplinary research; and 6) opposition from powerful interest groups. As researchers depend on grants to support their activities, they tend to devote their efforts where funding is most plentiful. However, some private charities and foundations are beginning to provide support where the federal government does not. A shortage of ethnic researchers presents the problem of researchers not being familiar with nor trusted by citizens whom they research. The concept of regarding violence as a public health issue is relatively new, thus, is not yet widely accepted and has not much research precedence from which to draw data. Among the most prominent of interest groups that oppose research is the National Rifle Association, which has sought to block research into firearm injuries. Despite these obstacles, the lure of a largely unexplored research frontier should be a powerful incentive. 2 charts, 36 references