Gun Violence Prevention

Gun violence is a public health crisis that continues to devastate individuals, families, and communities. ASPPH made a renewed commitment to work to end it by establishing a Task Force and creating a framework to guide academic public health institutions to inform their actions related to gun violence prevention.

Gun Violence Prevention Framework

Gun Violence Preventation Task Force and Framework

The ASPPH Gun Violence Prevention (GVP) Task Force included expert representatives from our member schools and programs of public health. The Task Force reviewed existing literature, identified needs and gaps, and developed recommendations for strategies informed by evidence that can be used by our more than 140 members and other schools and programs of public health to enhance our impact across the broader stakeholder community.

Four domains are addressed in the Task Force’s Gun Violence Prevention: An Academic Public Health Framework: education and training; research; policy and advocacy; and practice. Three cross-cutting themes were also identified in the context of each domain:

  1. emphasizing a public health perspective in the national conversation,
  2. elevating strategies that are rooted in empirical evidence, and
  3. investing in the next generation of public health professionals for long-term change.
Gun Violence Prevention Is Public Health Slogan

Recommendations at a Glance


Gun Violence Prevention Recommendations for Schools and Programs of Public Health

View additional recommendations for ASPPH. ASPPH recognizes that there is a diversity of capacity and priorities in SPPHs, and each institution will need to continue to assess its readiness and ability to act on specific recommendations.

A Message from the Task Force Chair


Hear remarks from Sandro Galea, Dean of the Boston University School of Public Health and ASPPH Gun Violence Prevention Task Force Chair, on the impact of gun violence across communities, the role of academic public health, and the opportunity to take action.

ASPPH Actions


In response to public outcry for legislative action around recent mass shootings across the nation, ASPPH issued a statement on its commitment to end gun violence. In addition to launching the GVP Task Force, ASPPH urged its members to express support for the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act, the first significant gun safety legislation to advance in nearly 30 years. ASPPH also led several advocacy efforts urging congressional action on gun violence through collaborations with like-minded organizations.

ACADEMIC PUBLIC HEALTH RESOURCES HUB (THE HUB)

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The Academic Public Health Resources Hub (the Hub) is an online repository where ASPPH members can post and share resources for mutual benefit.

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Staff


Beeta Rasouli drives advocacy initiatives for ASPPH. She promotes federal policies that support the academic public health community. Beeta also serves as a congressional liaison for ASPPH and its members.

Beeta Rasouli, MPH

Director of Advocacy and Federal Affairs

Tim Leshan leads public relations and advocacy for ASPPH. This includes both internal and external communications, advocacy for academic public health, as well as global affairs and fundraising.

Tim Leshan, MPA

Chief External Relations and Advocacy Officer