by Deborah Kuhls, M.D.
The Injury Prevention and Pediatric Surgery Committees have partnered to bring you both a presession and a lunch session at the 77th Annual Meeting of the AAST and 4th World Trauma Congress to empower you with new knowledge and skills to be more effective in preventing injuries. I hope you will join us!
Presession: “Firearm Injury Prevention: It Starts with a Conversation”
The AAST Meeting will include a presession entitled “Firearm Injury Prevention: It Starts with a Conversation,” which is co-sponsored by the Injury Prevention and Pediatric Trauma Committees. We will cover a broad range of related topics, including epidemiology of adult and pediatric firearm injuries, talking with parents and patients about depression and suicide, intimate partner violence as a risk for firearm injury, firearm violence prevention in older adults, and opportunities for advocacy, as well as practical next steps on how to help your trauma center include firearm violence prevention in its prevention program. National experts will discuss how your trauma center can sponsor safe storage outreach, and they will identify tools that can help you talk with patients about keeping them, their families, and their friends as safe as possible. We will also discuss successful models of violence-prevention interventions and how to establish a sustainable violence intervention program.
As trauma professionals, we have a great opportunity to advocate on the state and federal levels for initiatives that will decrease firearm injuries and death, including funding research on effective programs to achieve this goal. When registering for the AAST Annual Meeting, be sure to register for this presession.
Wednesday Lunch Session: “Grassroots Legislative Advocacy: A Story is Worth 181 Votes ‘The World is Run by Those Who Show Up’”
This lunch session is sponsored by the Pediatric Trauma Surgery and Injury Prevention Committees and will feature a pediatric trauma surgeon and a senator who have worked together on a variety of trauma-related advocacy issues within the state of Massachusetts to help keep patients, and the public, safer. Attendees will gain knowledge and skill in how to effectively advocate for change that will benefit our patients. When registering for the AAST Annual Meeting, be sure to register for this lunch session.