Dear AAST and EAST Members,  

During our most recent meetings, the topic of firearm injuries and death has been prominent in the program and important discussions.  As many of you may be aware, the American College of Surgeons Committee on Trauma (ACS COT) prepared and administered a survey of COT members to help better understand COT member views on firearm ownership, freedom, responsibility and policy.  The injury prevention committees and leadership of both the AAST and EAST would like to know your views on this important topic

We know you receive many surveys, so we made every effort to balance ease of completion with thoroughness. The last question is open ended in case we missed something, or if you wish to add your opinion or provide context for your views.

We view this survey as very important, because in order to move forward with constructive solutions, we have to fully understand the issues from a range of perspectives. First, we want to understand where we, as trauma care professionals agree, and second, we aim to encourage a dialogue around areas where we may have differences. We believe that knowledge of your views and ongoing dialogue are foundational professional principles that have led to a successful and robust trauma system. Our goal is to apply this “trauma approach” to firearm injury policy and program development.

We estimate that this survey will take you ten minutes to complete. Your responses will be anonymous.  Although the survey is brief, we hope this stimulates further thought regarding strategies that will decrease firearm injuries and death. Aggregate results will be analyzed and shared with members and the intent is to prepare a white paper to disseminate the results widely.  

Survey Link: 
https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/AASTEASTFirearm

If you have questions about the survey, feel free to contact Dr. Deborah Kuhls at deborah.kuhls@unlv.edu. We have secured IRB approval for this voluntary research survey and if you have questions about the IRB, please contact Dr. Peter Burke at Peter.Burke@bmc.org.

Thank you for your time and willingness to complete the survey on this important topic to all of us. 

Sincerely,

President of AAST

 President of EAST

AAST Injury Prevention Committee Chair