Deer Hunting Season and Firearm Violence in US Rural Counties.

ABSTRACT:

Importance

Firearm violence is a major public health problem in the US. However, relatively little research has focused particular attention on firearm violence in rural areas, and few studies have used research designs that draw on exogenous variation in the prevalence of firearms to estimate the association between firearm presence and shootings.

Objective

To investigate the association between the start of deer hunting season and shootings in rural counties in the US.

Design, setting, and participants

In this cohort study, data from all rural US counties in states with available data on the timing of deer hunting season were matched with data on shootings from the Gun Violence Archive from January 1, 2014, to December 31, 2021.

Exposure

Shootings in the firs

SUBMITTER: Sharkey P 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11325211 | biostudies-literature | 2024 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature