Evaluating the Use of a Pamphlet as an Educational Tool to Improve Safe Firearm Storage in the Home

Hoops, Katherine; Hernandez, Emily; Ziegfeld, Susan; Nasr, Isam; Crifasi, Cassandra K.

doi:10.1177/0009922820961772

Cited by 2 publications

(4 citation statements)

References 9 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…While evaluation of such campaigns in the gun safety field is scant, several programs have been implemented, including the national Be SMART and End Family Fire campaigns. Emerging research on these two programs in clinical settings shows promising results (Silver et al 2021 ; Gastineau et al 2021 ; Clary et al 2020 ; Hoops et al 2021 ). The Be SMART campaign, implemented by volunteers for Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America, seeks to normalize conversations about secure gun storage, encouraging adults to follow five steps: Secure all guns in their homes and vehicles; Model responsible behavior around guns; Ask about the presence of unsecured guns in other homes; Recognize the role of guns in suicide; and Tell your peers to be SMART (Everytown for Gun Safety Support Fund 2023 ; Thomas et al 2019 ).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…End Family Fire, a partnership between Brady and the Ad Council, is a national advertising campaign that promotes responsible gun ownership and encourages secure gun storage (Brady United Against Gun Violence and AD Council 2023 ). Both of these programs are adaptable to be implemented by various stakeholders including doctors (Silver et al 2021 ; Gastineau et al 2021 ; Clary et al 2020 ; Hoops et al 2021 ), educators (Sawchuk 2021 ), government officials (Everytown for Gun Safety Action Fund 2020 ), and law enforcement (Woodland Park Police Department 2021 ), among others. Further research on the effectiveness of public education on secure firearm storage in community settings is needed.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Preventable tragedies: findings from the #NotAnAccident index of unintentional shootings by children

Cannon,

Reese,

Tetens

et al. 2023

Inj. Epidemiol.

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Background Between 2015 and 2021, 3,498 Americans died from unintentional gun injuries, including 713 children 17 years and younger. Roughly 30 million American children live in homes with firearms, many of which are loaded and unlocked. This study assesses the scope of unintentional shootings by children 17 and younger in the US and the relationship between these shootings and state-level secure storage laws. Methods Demographic and injury data of both perpetrators and victims of unintentional shootings by children 17 and younger in the US from 1/1/2015–12/31/2021 were extracted from the #NotAnAccident Index. The #NotAnAccident Index contains media-report data, which is systematically flagged through Google Alerts. We describe characteristics of incidents and examine incident rates over time. The association between state-level secure storage laws and rates of unintentional shootings by children is assessed in multivariate negative binomial regression models. Results 2,448 unintentional shootings by children resulted in 926 deaths and 1,603 nonfatal gun injuries over a period of seven years. Most perpetrators (81%) and victims (76%) were male. The mean age was 10.0 (SD 5.5) for shooters and 10.9 (SD 8.1) for victims. Children were as likely to shoot themselves (49%) as they were to shoot others (47%). The majority of victims were under 18 years old (91%). Shootings most often occurred in or around homes (71%) and with handguns (53%). From March to December 2020, coinciding with the COVID-19 pandemic, incidents increased 24% over the same period in 2019, which was driven largely by an increase among shooters ages 0–5. Depending on the type of law, rates of unintentional shootings by children were 24% to 72% lower in states with secure storage laws, compared to states without such laws. Conclusions Unintentional shootings by children are on the rise, particularly among children 0–5 years old, but are preventable tragedies. Our results show that secure firearm storage policies are strongly correlated with lower rates of unintentional shootings by children. Firearm storage policies, practices, and education efforts are needed to ensure guns are kept secured and inaccessible to children.

show abstract

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Preventable tragedies: findings from the #NotAnAccident index of unintentional shootings by children

Cannon,

Reese,

Tetens

et al. 2023

Inj. Epidemiol.

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Resources, such as pamphlets or web applications, that educate patients and caregivers about the impact of sequelae of TBI on one’s ability to safely store, load, and utilize a firearm, may allow health care teams to provide recommendations to mitigate one’s risk of firearm-related injury without the time burden that providing one-on-one counseling entails. Moreover, such materials are likely to receive a neutral or positive response from patients and their family members ( 26 – 28 ). It is noted that educational resources on this topic have been made available by the Department of Veterans Affairs, including an informative website and a toolkit addressing safe firearm storage ( 29 , 30 ).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Florida passed the Firearm Owners' Privacy Act in 2011, which prohibited physicians from routinely inquiring about their patients' ownership of firearms, but the U.S. Court of Appeals overturned it in 2017 (24). A subsequent survey of faculty physicians at the University of Florida revealed that many were not aware that the restrictions on physicians discussing firearms with their patients had been ruled unconstitutional and were no longer in effect (25).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Firearm injury prevention counseling for patients with traumatic brain injury: a survey of brain injury physicians

Ramsay,

Miranda-Cantellops,

Acosta

et al. 2023

Front. Neurol.

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

BackgroundSurvivors of traumatic brain injury are at increased risk for firearm-related injuries, including suicide.AimsTo determine current practices of Brain Injury Medicine (BIM) physicians and their rehabilitation teams in assessing patients’ access to firearms and in providing firearm safety education, and the impact of having received training on this topic on physicians’ likelihood of inquiring about patients’ access to firearms.Methods14-item web-based cross-sectional survey of 86 U.S. physiatrists board-certified in BIM.Results81% of respondents indicated they believe BIM physicians should counsel their patients on firearm safety but only 12.9% reported always doing so. Fifteen percent reported always inquiring about their patients’ access to firearms. 88.2% indicated having never received formal training on firearm injury prevention counseling. Physicians who received such training had 7.5 times higher odds of reporting at least sometimes inquiring about patients’ access to firearms than those who were not trained [95% confidence interval (1.94, 28.64)]. They also had 5.7 times higher odds for reporting being at least moderately comfortable providing patients firearm safety counseling [95% CI: (1.39, 23.22)].ConclusionWhile most BIM specialists who responded to this survey believe they should counsel patients on firearm safety, few always or usually do so. Moreover, most do not routinely inquire about their patients’ access to firearms. The provision of firearm injury prevention training to BIM physicians was strongly associated with an increased likelihood they will inquire about their patients’ access to guns and with an improved comfort level in providing counseling on this subject matter.

show abstract

Evaluating the Use of a Pamphlet as an Educational Tool to Improve Safe Firearm Storage in the Home

Cited by 2 publications

References 9 publications

Preventable tragedies: findings from the #NotAnAccident index of unintentional shootings by children

Preventable tragedies: findings from the #NotAnAccident index of unintentional shootings by children

Firearm injury prevention counseling for patients with traumatic brain injury: a survey of brain injury physicians

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About