Firearm Injury Prevention in Clinical Practice: Staying on Message

An informed approach to the development of primary care pediatric firearm safety messages

BACKGROUND

Firearm ownership is prevalent in the US and many children spend time in areas where firearms are not stored safely. The AAP recommends firearm safety counseling at pediatric well-visits.

METHODS

We developed and tested six contextual messages to promote safe firearm storage based on: absence of harm, collective appeal to understanding child behavior, pediatrician's authority, evidence-based, fear appeal, and general safety considerations. One hundred four parents who keep firearms at home were recruited from Amazon Mechanical Turk Prime and viewed video messages and reported behavioral intentions and emotional reactions following each message.

RESULTS

All six contextual messages were perceived as important and believable and increased parents' intentions to follow safety advice provided, but also elicited negative emotions. The authority message elicited more negative emotions and resulted in lower intentions to follow safe storage advice.

CONCLUSIONS

Including firearm messages with other child safety advice merits further evaluation. Authority messages should be avoided.

Armed and Aging: Dementia and Firearms Do Not Mix !

The possibility that persons with dementia possess firearms is cause for concern, but only a limited number of research studies have been conducted on such a topic, usually in the form of case reports. Reducing the occurrence of the firearm-related violence requires effectively identifying dangerous individuals and keeping firearms out of their hands. The health care professionals, i.e. the social workers and the physicians, need to work together and to produce a suitable evaluation of patients with dementia to prevent firearm-related injuries and serious and irreparable damage to persons.