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Hear from experts working to reduce firearm injury
Family Practice Physicians’ Firearm Safety Counseling Beliefs and Behaviors
Survey response by the American Academy of Family Physicians found that the majority of respondents rarely counseled patients about firearm safety, and many did not believe it to be a priority in their delivery of primary care.
Firearm Injury Prevention Counseling: Are We Missing the Mark?
This study found that pediatricians often underestimate the likelihood of their patients' families owning gun, making them less likely to engage in a conversation about firearm safety with those families.
Pediatricians’ Involvement in Gun Injury Prevention
In an effort to understand pediatricians' beliefs regarding firearm injury prevention, this study found that pediatricians in the United States believed firearm safety counseling was part of their responsibility, though many felt that they did not have time or sufficient training to do so.
Firearm Injury Prevention Counseling by Pediatricians and Family Physicians. Practices and Beliefs
Although most primary care physicians believe they have a responsibility to counsel families about firearm safety, this study found that the minority of primary care physicians taking care of children actually do.
Internists’ and Surgeons’ Attitudes Toward Guns and Firearm Injury Prevention
Structured telephone interviews of internists and surgeons found that they believed firearm violence is a major public health issue and that physicians should be involved with firearm injury prevention.
Firearm Injury Prevention Counseling: A Study of Pediatricians’ Beliefs and Practices
Responses from a mail survey of the Maryland Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics on firearm injury prevention revealed that although most pediatricians believe that firearm safety counseling is an important responsibility, a minority of pediatricians actually discuss firearm injury prevention with families.
Who are the Owners of Firearms used in Adolescent Suicides?
Examining 63 firearm suicides among youth across the United States in 2001 and 2002, researchers found that the majority of these suicides occurred at home and most of the firearms implicated in the suicide were owned by parents.
Guns in the Home and Risk of a Violent Death in the Home: Findings from a National Study
Results from this study analyzing data from a United States mortality follow-back survey reveal that having a firearm in the home raises the risk of firearm homicide and firearm suicide in the home, regardless of storage practices, number of firearms, or type of firearm.
Storage Practices of US Gun Owners in 2016
An online survey of gun owners in the Unites States revealed that several personal factors influenced the safe storage of guns, such as family discussions and children. It also revealed that organizations like law enforcement, hunting or outdoors groups, active-duty military, and the National Rifle Association were ranked as most effective in communicating gun safety measures.
Firearm Storage in Gun-owning Households with Children: Results of a 2015 National Survey
Examining the prevalence of firearms and their storage practices in homes with children, this study found that the percentage of households with a firearm that is kept unlocked and loaded has increased by about 7%, highlighting the need for better efforts in reducing children's' exposure to unsafely stored firearms.
Gun Storage Practices and Risk of Youth Suicide and Unintentional Firearm Injuries
Although health authorities advocate for safe firearm storage to prevent access of firearms to children and adolescents, the association of safe firearm storage practices and the risk of firearm injury was long unclear. This study looking at homes found that the practices of keeping a gun locked, unloaded, storing ammunition locked, and in a separate location were each associated with a reduced risk in firearm injuries.
Firearms in US Homes as a Risk Factor for Unintentional Gunshot Fatality
Having firearms in the home was found to be a risk factor for unintentional gunshot fatality in this study examining a sample of adults who died in the United States in 1993 from unintentional gunshot injuries.