The physician's role in preventing small arms injury.

The first step in defining a public health problem is to describe its scope and nature. For most diseases, this involves details on the victims, morbidity and mortality, and the agent of the disease. In the case of the small-arms 'disease', apart from data on the injuries caused, most other information resides with criminal justice agencies that are primarily concerned with criminal activity. In the United States, beginning in the state of Wisconsin, an approach based on the nation-wide data system of car crash deaths has been developed, linking medical examiners, coroners, police data and other information to provide a comprehensive picture of firearm-related deaths. The next step should be to develop standardized firearm-markings that would aid in controlling the illicit trade in small arms and more detailed information on the relationship between type of firearm and injury. Physicians can do much to aid prevention of small arms injury by advocating this public health approach.