Northwell Health Releases New Toolkit on Firearm Injury Prevention
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- Northwell Health’s Center for Gun Violence Prevention released “Guiding Health Systems to Action on Firearm Injury & Violence Prevention.”
- The toolkit recognizes firearm injury as a complex public health issue requiring tailored, evidence-based solutions.
- Guidance is organized across system-level, community-level, and clinical/organizational strategies to support implementation and scalability.
Physicians and health systems face increasingly complex public health challenges, and turning evidence into meaningful action can be difficult without clear implementation guidance. Healthcare leaders are often asked to address emerging issues while balancing patient care demands, workforce pressures, and operational realities.
Northwell Health, an MSSNY Organizational Member, has taken an important step in this space with the release of “Guiding Health Systems to Action on Firearm Injury & Violence Prevention: An Implementation Toolkit.” Developed by the Northwell Center for Gun Violence Prevention, the toolkit is intended to serve as a practical roadmap for hospitals and health systems seeking to better understand and implement prevention strategies tailored to their communities.
The publication recognizes that firearm injury and mortality are not uniform challenges, and that effective responses require different approaches depending on local needs and patient populations. Northwell notes that while evidence supporting prevention continues to grow, implementation remains the critical gap, and that health systems need practical guidance on execution, sustainability, and scaling successful programs.
Rather than promoting a single model, the toolkit outlines a flexible framework for engagement across three areas:
- System-level strategies, including policy, partnerships, and data infrastructure.
- Community-level strategies, emphasizing collaboration with local organizations and violence intervention efforts.
- Clinical and organizational strategies, such as screening, counseling, hospital-based violence intervention, and workforce safety initiatives.
The resource also focuses heavily on real-world implementation, including leadership engagement, governance structures, funding strategies, evaluation methods, and long-term sustainability planning. Its goal is to help healthcare organizations move beyond discussion and toward operational action.
MSSNY encourages physicians and healthcare leaders interested in prevention, implementation science, and population health to review the toolkit and consider how its lessons may inform their own communities.
Northwell releases first-of-its-kind toolkit to help health care providers implement gun violence prevention programs (Northwell, Libassi, 4/16).
