Key words: gun violence, interdisciplinary

Background: Gun violence is a rapidly growing, yet preventable, societal challenge in the United States and is the leading cause of death in children and adolescents ages 1-19. Los Angeles alone contains about 25% of California’s total population yet suffered 32% of all gun homicides in California from 2016-2021. There is no one solution to gun violence given the multitude of causes, such as the 1996 Dickey Amendment which prohibited federal funding for research related to gun control, as well as systemic violence and racism. At UCLA, many academic departments at UCLA are home to renowned national experts in gun violence research. Yet, there is not currently a coordinated effort for groups at UCLA to address the problem of firearm violence collectively campus-wide.

Objectives: These projects seek to demonstrate the need for interdisciplinary efforts to address gun violence. In regards to research, one project will explore the morbidity of gun violence by characterizing eye injuries caused by guns at Harbor-UCLA. A separate project involves leading and teaching the firearm safety didactic in the Foundations of Practice curriculum. Lastly, this project will create the UCLA Interdisciplinary Conference for Gun Violence Reduction, which seeks to establish a community at UCLA of scholars, students, and greater Los Angeles partners to promote interdisciplinary, creative, and evidence-based solutions to reduce, prevent, and manage gun injuries in the United States.

Design: These three projects were developed by first immersing in community events to learn about the community’s needs and asks. This includes attending political campaigns through Giffords, presenting at the National Research Conference for the Prevention of Firearm-Related Harms, and talking with local partners such as Urban Peace Institute and the LA County Office of Violence Prevention. Each of these community events revealed opportunities for projects to build sustainable partnerships and educational modules, as well as bolster the data related to gun violence which can eventually be used for advocacy.

Impact/Effectiveness: Each of these projects have different measures of effectiveness. Student feedback is collected from the FOP module, and scholarly feedback is shared at the national conference’s poster session. The UCLA conference has close to 100 registrants from various UCLA schools and departments, including Medicine, Law, Public Health, Arts & Architecture, Business, and Social Welfare.

Lessons Learned: Systemic change requires an understanding of the different types of stakeholders, approaches, and methodologies related to that topic. It is key to collaborate with and lean on community partners to center people, equity, and diverse ideas.

Summary: Gun violence is a multifaceted crisis that can benefit from an interdisciplinary approach to reduce harm and alleviate systemic causes of violence.