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Research to Action: Screening for Firearm Safety to Prevent Injury and Death

Individual and Family Counseling Tools to Prevent Firearm Injury and Death

  1. Presence of guns in the household
  2. Storage and handling practices — locked/unlocked; loaded/unloaded; ammunition stored with/away from gun
  3. Other risk factors — suicidal/homicidal ideation; history of violence; current or past mental health problems of occupants of the home; substance abuse

Improved Gun Safety

  1. Cable locks — blocks loading the firearm. Can be used on any gun.
  2. Trigger locks — Locks around the trigger to prevent the gun from being fired. Uses a key or combination lock.
  3. Lock box — Small box in which a handgun is stored. Can be opened with a key or combination lock.
  4. Gun safe — Large safe to store multiple long and small guns.
  5. Disassembling guns — Taking gun apart, requiring reassembly for use.
  6. Relinquishing guns — Remove access to guns on temporary or permanent basis, voluntarily or involuntarily.

While not all firearm deaths and injuries can be prevented, providers can screen and counsel clients/patients for better firearm safety in the home. Such screening could be presented as a Safety Checkup, part of routine care that emphasizes a variety of injury prevention measures. For example, if the family has infants or toddlers in the household, safe sleeping and drowning prevention could also be included. The gun safety checkup can be divided into two types of screening questions: (a) for individuals and families and (b) physical gun safety measures.

These two gun safety checkup tools encourage providers to screen and counsel clients who are at risk for gun violence. This checkup promotes individual and family gun safety practices and improved gun safety practices by securing guns in the household. There are many risks that make a person and a family vulnerable to gun violence. We have listed the most common ones here. If any of these are thought to be present, the provider should consider them as red flags for more extensive screening and counseling as well as referral for clinical treatment and/or administrative action such as informing authorities when the provider believes the risk is high.

References

Roberts, B., Masiakos, P. T., Vzcek, J., & Sathya, C. (2022). Firearm injury and mortality prevention in pediatric health-care settings. Pediatrics in Review, 43(4), 212–221.