Protecting Our Kids from Guns

Stanford Medicine Children’s Health seeks to prevent childhood trauma. As the most comprehensive pediatric trauma center in Northern California, we are also leading the way through trauma prevention research, education, and community outreach.

Stephanie Chao, MD, the medical director of Stanford’s pediatric trauma program and a pediatric surgeon, is spearheading the effort. Her research has shown that firearm deaths in children and teens are about twice as common in states with the most lenient gun laws compared to states with the strictest regulations. However, she recognizes that legislation alone is not enough.

Dr. Chao wants to address this public health crisis by working with school administrators to explore co-creating age-appropriate curricula to instruct students about gun risks and safety. School programs can be a powerful catalyst for changing behavior across the country and across generations.

In addition to gun safety, Stephanie Chao, MD, is leading the way in improving child abuse detection.

One in seven American kids experiences child abuse and neglect, but our system of detection is flawed. Dr. Chao’s research has shown that racial and ethnic minorities are over-represented among child abuse cases reported to child protective services and receive differing treatment while in the hospital. Over-identification may needlessly tear apart families. But missing cases can result in escalating injuries and even death.

To broaden the safety net for all kids, Dr. Chao seeks to make hospital screening for child abuse universal and objective. Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital Stanford created a system to screen injured kids through software that detects risk factors for abuse in a patient’s electronic medical record. Dr. Chao partnered with EPIC Systems, the nation’s largest provider of electronic medical records, to develop a screening tool that can be adopted by most U.S. hospitals.