Abstract
Firearm injuries are the leading cause of death among children and adolescents in the US. Safe storage of firearms in the home is one of the most effective ways of preventing firearm injuries in children. This feasibility study was conducted in both the pediatric and general Emergency Departments of a large urban academic medical center in a community with high rates of firearm injuries in children. The objective was to pilot a survey seeking to describe sociodemographic characteristics, firearm specific risk factors, and firearm storage practices of households with children in the community. One hundred participants completed a survey containing items regarding participant demographics, household features, firearm ownership, firearm characteristics, and storage practices. Descriptive statistics were used to define sociodemographic characteristics of the enrolled population, comparing those with firearms to those without, and to describe firearms and storage practices of firearm owners in households with children. Of 100 participants, 30 lived in households with firearms and children. Most firearms in homes with children were stored locked and unloaded most of the time; however, 30% of participants with firearms and children in the home reported not consistently storing a firearm locked and unloaded. The most common reason given for not storing a firearm in the safest manner possible was that storing a firearm locked and unloaded would make it difficult to access quickly. Engaging families with children in discussions around firearm prevention during Emergency Department visits is feasible and may have implications for future efforts to promote safe firearm storage practices.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Swendiman, R. A., Hatchimonji, J. S., Allukian, M., Blinman, T. A., Nance, M. L., & Nace, G. W. (2020). Pediatric firearm injuries: Anatomy of an epidemic. Surgery, 168(3), 381–384. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.surg.2020.02.023.
Johnson, R. M., Barber, C., Azrael, D., Clark, D. E., & Hemenway, D. (2010). Who are the owners of firearms used in adolescent suicides? Suicide and Lifethreatening Behavior, 40(6), 609–611. [doi].
More (2018). than 311,000 students have experienced gun violence at school since columbine. https://www.washingtonpost.com/graphics/2018/local/school-shootings-database/?utm_term=.8cb747ab6323.
Li, G., Baker, S. P., DiScala, C., Fowler, C., Ling, J., & Kelen, G. D. (1996). Factors associated with the intent of firearm-related injuries in pediatric trauma patients. Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine, 150(11), 1160–1165. https://doi.org/10.1001/archpedi.1996.02170360050008[doi].
Dowd, M. D., & Sege, R. D. (2012). Firearm-related injuries affecting the pediatric population. Pediatrics (Evanston), 130(5), e1416–e1423. https://doi.org/10.1542/peds.2012-2481. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23080412.
Grossman, D. C., Mueller, B. A., Riedy, C., et al. (2005). Gun storage practices and risk of youth suicide and unintentional firearm injuries. Journal of the American Medical Association, 293(6), 707–714. doi: 293/6/707 [pii].
Crifasi, C. K., Doucette, M. L., McGinty, E. E., Webster, D. W., & Barry, C. L. (2018). Storage practices of US gun owners in 2016. American Journal of Public Health, 108(4), 532–537. [doi].
Azrael, D., Cohen, J., Salhi, C., & Miller, M. (2018). Firearm storage in gun-owning households with children: Results of a 2015 national survey. J Urban Health, 95(3), 295–304. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11524-018-0261-7[doi].
Harfouche, M. N., Shields, T., & Curriero, F. C. (2023). Geospatial analysis of firearm injuries in an urban setting: Individual rather than community characteristics affect firearm injury risk. The American Journal of Surgery, 225(6), 1062–1068. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.amjsurg.2023.01.014.
Backgroundchecks.org (Updated 2020). U.S. counties with the most gun deaths. https://backgroundchecks.org/us-counties-with-the-most-gun-deaths.html. Accessed August 16, 2023.
Ruchika Goel, X., Zhu, S., Makhani (2023). Pediatric firearm injury related emergency department visits and hospitalizations: A population-based study in the united StatesResearch in context. The Lancet Regional Health. Americas. ;22:100503. https://doaj.org/article/44c351c3e8984d0a96a1f3d48a1e1c71.
Parents%E2%80%99 perspectives on. (2020). Safe storage of firearms. Journal of Community Health, 45(3), 469–477.
Preferences for firearm locking. (2019). Devices and device features among participants in a firearm safety event. The Western Journal of Emergency Medicine, 20(4), 552–556.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Ethics declarations
Conflict of interest
The authors have no financial or non-financial interests that are directly or indirectly related to the work submitted for publication.
Additional information
Publisher’s Note
Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.
Rights and permissions
Springer Nature or its licensor (e.g. a society or other partner) holds exclusive rights to this article under a publishing agreement with the author(s) or other rightsholder(s); author self-archiving of the accepted manuscript version of this article is solely governed by the terms of such publishing agreement and applicable law.
About this article
Cite this article
Cohen, J.S., Milton, J., Hoops, K. et al. A Study of Households with Children and Firearms in Baltimore, Maryland. J Community Health (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10900-024-01335-8
Accepted:
Published:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10900-024-01335-8