BACKGROUND: To ascertain the prevalence of gun ownership, gun safety education, and parental attitudes on gun counseling in a Midwestern sample. METHODS: Parents seeking care at participating practices in the Southwestern Ohio Ambulatory Research Network were recruited to complete a survey about gun ownership, gun safety education, and gun counseling attitudes. Attitudes and beliefs were compared between gun owners and non-gun owners. RESULTS: Twenty-four percent of respondents had at least 1 gun in the home. Military families were more likely to own a gun than civilian families (28% vs 18%, P = .001). Fifty-two percent of sample children have received gun safety education. Eight percent indicated that a physician had asked about guns or discussed gun safety issues during an office visit. A majority of parents indicated that physicians should ask about guns in the home (69%) and advise parents on safe storage (75%), but they should not advise parents to remove guns from the home (12% of gun owners, 42% of non-gun owners). CONCLUSIONS: Despite the morbidity and mortality associated with guns, physicians in this study do not seem to be addressing this risk with families. A majority of gun owners do not agree that physicians should counsel the removal of guns from the home but agree that they should discuss safe gun storage information.
BACKGROUND: To ascertain the prevalence of gun ownership, gun safety education, and parental attitudes on gun counseling in a Midwestern sample. METHODS: Parents seeking care at participating practices in the Southwestern Ohio Ambulatory Research Network were recruited to complete a survey about gun ownership, gun safety education, and gun counseling attitudes. Attitudes and beliefs were compared between gun owners and non-gun owners. RESULTS: Twenty-four percent of respondents had at least 1 gun in the home. Military families were more likely to own a gun than civilian families (28% vs 18%, P = .001). Fifty-two percent of sample children have received gun safety education. Eight percent indicated that a physician had asked about guns or discussed gun safety issues during an office visit. A majority of parents indicated that physicians should ask about guns in the home (69%) and advise parents on safe storage (75%), but they should not advise parents to remove guns from the home (12% of gun owners, 42% of non-gun owners). CONCLUSIONS: Despite the morbidity and mortality associated with guns, physicians in this study do not seem to be addressing this risk with families. A majority of gun owners do not agree that physicians should counsel the removal of guns from the home but agree that they should discuss safe gun storage information.
Authors: David C Schwebel; Terri Lewis; Thomas R Simon; Marc N Elliott; Sara L Toomey; Susan R Tortolero; Paula M Cuccaro; Mark A Schuster Journal: Health Educ Behav Date: 2014-01-13
Authors: Paul J D Roszko; Jonathan Ameli; Patrick M Carter; Rebecca M Cunningham; Megan L Ranney Journal: Epidemiol Rev Date: 2016-02-08 Impact factor: 6.222
Authors: Victoria Williamson; Sharon A M Stevelink; Eve Da Silva; Nicola T Fear Journal: Child Adolesc Psychiatry Ment Health Date: 2018-11-07 Impact factor: 3.033