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ERIC Number: EJ1435748
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2021
Pages: 18
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: N/A
EISSN: EISSN-2155-5834
Temporary Firearm Storage and Safe Firearm Storage Counseling at Gun Retailers and Ranges in the Greater Houston Area: A Potential New Partner in Addressing Child and Youth Firearm Injury?
Sandra McKay; Michael B. Bagg; Zachary Tallackson; Deepanjli Donthula; Bethany Russell; Nidha Sha; Allison Petronzio; Mike Henson-Garcia
Journal of Applied Research on Children, v12 n2 Article 6 2021
While firearm-related injuries are the leading cause of death among US children between 1-18, and account for nearly half of suicides among young people, public health experts continue to struggle in identifying efficacious mechanisms to reduce and prevent firearm access for children. Currently 4.8 million children live in a home with a loaded and unlocked firearm and more than a third of adolescents nationwide say that they can access a loaded firearm within five minutes. However, the risk of unintentional or self-inflicted firearm injury is lower if all household firearms are stored locked. It is imperative for parents to be counseled on safe firearm storage practices, and this has been studied within various healthcare settings. Yet, little is known about the impact on the education of safe firearm storage counseling within the community. Also, temporary emergency storage can be a vital option for families in crisis. We identified 130 firearm retailers and 31 firearm ranges in the Greater Houston Area and were able to successfully contact 66 retailers (51%) and 19 ranges (61%). Only 9% (n=8) of retailers and ranges contacted reported offering temporary emergency firearm storage. At point-of-sale, there was wide variation in the communication mechanisms employed in educating individuals on safe firearm storage practices including informational handouts, videos, posters, training classes, and verbal counseling. Collaborating with firearm retailers and ranges to introduce more consistent messaging on firearm safe storage at point-of-sale represents a novel approach to community-based interventions to firearm counseling and potentially suicide prevention.
Children At Risk. 2900 Weslayan Street Suite 400, Houston, TX 77027. Tel: 713-869-7740; Fax: 713-869-3409; e-mail: jarc@childrenatrisk.org; Web site: https://digitalcommons.library.tmc.edu/childrenatrisk/
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research; Tests/Questionnaires
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: Texas (Houston)
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A