A Qualitative Scoping Review of Community Firearm Violence in Low-Income Settings

Firearm violence is a public health crisis in the United States that disproportionately impacts community members in low-income areas who witness and experience violence and violent victimization at elevated rates compared to other socioeconomic groups, often as result of community disinvestment and systemic racism (Smith et al., Soc Sci Med 246:112587, 2020). While quantitative reviews of firearm violence and related factors exist, a review of qualitative methods and findings regarding exposure to firearm violence has not yet been conducted. This scoping review sought to address a gap in the literature by summarizing the findings of qualitative studies on community firearm violence in low-income settings in the U.S. EBSCO databases, Criminal Justice Abstracts, National Criminal Justice Reference Service Abstracts, ProQuest, and PsycINFO were searched for studies that described the firearm related experiences of individuals and families in low-income communities. Thirty studies met the criteria for review. Findings were situated within the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's (CDC) Social-Ecological Model as a framework for prevention (CDC, The social-ecological model: a framework for prevention, https://www.cdc.gov/violenceprevention/about/social-ecologicalmodel.html, 2018; Dahlberg and Krug, World Report on violence and health, World Health Organization, Geneva, 2002). A critique of the literature, as well as implications and future directions of findings, are discussed. This study may inform future research questions and programs that center the voices of those most impacted by firearm violence.