Gun Ownership and Mental Health

Chohan, Alisha

doi:10.2307/j.ctv2ndwxcg.13

Cited by 2 publications

(2 citation statements)

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“…Suicide accounts for more than half of firearm deaths in the US, and 85% to 95% of people who attempt suicide by firearm do not survive . Nationally, approximately a third of US residents report owning firearms, 42% report household firearms, 3% acquired firearms during the COVID-19 pandemic, and ownership of multiple firearms and firearm types (eg, handguns, long guns) is common . People with firearm access, particularly if stored loaded and unlocked, have increased suicide risk .…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Patient and Clinician Perspectives of a Standardized Question About Firearm Access to Support Suicide Prevention

et al. 2022

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ImportanceUS residents report broad access to firearms, which are the most common means of suicide death in the US. Standardized firearm access questions during routine health care encounters are uncommon despite potential benefits for suicide prevention.ObjectiveTo explore patient and clinician experiences with a standard question about firearm access on a self-administered mental health questionnaire routinely used prior to primary care and mental health specialty encounters.Design, Setting, and ParticipantsQualitative semistructured interviews were conducted from November 18, 2019, to October 8, 2020, at Kaiser Permanente Washington, a large integrated care delivery system and insurance provider. Electronic health record data identified adult patients with a documented mental health diagnosis who had received a standard question about firearm access (“Do you have access to guns? yes/no”) within the prior 2 weeks. A stratified sampling distribution selected 30% who answered “yes,” 30% who answered “no,” and 40% who left the question blank. Two groups of clinicians responsible for safety planning with patients at risk of suicide were also sampled: (1) licensed clinical social workers (LICSWs) in primary and urgent care settings and (2) consulting nurses (RNs).Main Outcomes and MeasuresParticipants completed semistructured telephone interviews, which were recorded and transcribed. Directive (deductive) and conventional (inductive) content analyses were used to apply knowledge from prior research and describe new information. Thematic analysis was used to organize key content, and triangulation was used to describe the intersections between patient and clinician perspectives.ResultsThirty-six patients were interviewed (of 76 sampled; mean [SD] age, 47.3 [17.9] years; 19 [53%] were male; 27 [75%] were White; 3 [8%] were Black; and 1 [3%] was Latinx or Hispanic. Sixteen participants had reported firearm access and 15 had reported thoughts of self-harm on the questionnaire used for sampling. Thirty clinicians were interviewed (of 51 sampled) (mean [SD] age, 44.3 [12.1] years; 24 [80%] were female; 18 [60%] were White; 5 [17%] were Asian or Pacific Islander; and 4 [13%] were Latinx or Hispanic) including 25 LICSWs and 5 RNs. Key organizing themes included perceived value of standardized questions about firearm access, challenges of asking and answering, and considerations for practice improvement. Clinician interview themes largely converged and/or complemented patient interviews.Conclusions and RelevanceIn this qualitative study using semistructured interviews with patients and clinicians, a standardized question about firearm access was found to encourage dialogue about firearm access. Respondents underscored the importance of nonjudgmental acknowledgment of patients’ reasons for firearm access as key to patient-centered practice improvement.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Patient and Clinician Perspectives of a Standardized Question About Firearm Access to Support Suicide Prevention

et al. 2022

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“…Polls show that an overwhelming majority of US adults—gun owners and non–gun owners alike—support expanded background checks, mandatory waiting periods, and requirements for safe storage of firearms . Despite this support, many gun owners express apprehension about enacting new gun safety laws, and they tend to favor political candidates who reject such policies . Furthermore, supporters of gun safety measures show less willingness than gun rights advocates to express their views, sign petitions, and contact elected officials …”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Public Opinion Perceptions, Private Support, and Public Actions of US Adults Regarding Gun Safety Policy

et al. 2020

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Key Points Question Is correcting misperceptions on gun safety public opinion associated with an increase in private support for and public actions on gun safety in the US? Findings In this 3-part survey study with a total of 1262 respondents, a nationally representative survey found that a majority of gun owners and non–gun owners support key gun safety policies, yet both groups significantly underestimate gun owners’ support for these policies. The 2 additional survey experiments, including one of university students and one with a representative sample of gun owners, found that corrective information about gun owners’ support for gun safety policies was associated with a significant increase in participants’ support for the policies both privately and publicly. Meaning These findings suggest that increasing awareness of the high levels of support for gun safety policies among gun owners may lead individuals to be more supportive of the policies both in private and in public.

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Gun Ownership and Mental Health

Cited by 2 publications

References 0 publications

Patient and Clinician Perspectives of a Standardized Question About Firearm Access to Support Suicide Prevention

Patient and Clinician Perspectives of a Standardized Question About Firearm Access to Support Suicide Prevention

Public Opinion Perceptions, Private Support, and Public Actions of US Adults Regarding Gun Safety Policy

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