BACKGROUND: Several professional medical societies advocate for firearm safety counseling with patients. Little is known about Emergency Physicians' practices and perceptions of firearm safety counseling. OBJECTIVE: To assess Emergency Physicians' beliefs regarding firearm control and their confidence in counseling patients on firearm safety. METHODS: A national random sample (n = 500) of the members of the American College of Emergency Physicians was sent a valid and reliable questionnaire on firearm safety counseling. RESULTS: Of the 278 (56.8%) responding physicians, those who were non-white and those who were not members of the National Rifle Association (NRA) perceived firearm violence to be more of a problem than white physicians and those who were members of the NRA. The majority did not believe that patients would view them as a good source of information on firearm safety (63.3%) or that patients would accept them providing anticipatory firearm safety guidance (56.5%). The majority of the Emergency Department physicians did not believe firearm safety counseling would impact firearm-related homicides (75.2%) or suicides (70%). CONCLUSIONS: The vast majority of Emergency Physicians had never been formally trained regarding firearm safety counseling, did not believe patients would see them as credible sources, and did not believe that anticipatory guidance on firearm safety would have any impact. These data may help inform Emergency Medicine residency programs on the training needs of residents regarding anticipatory guidance on firearm safety.
BACKGROUND: Several professional medical societies advocate for firearm safety counseling with patients. Little is known about Emergency Physicians' practices and perceptions of firearm safety counseling. OBJECTIVE: To assess Emergency Physicians' beliefs regarding firearm control and their confidence in counseling patients on firearm safety. METHODS: A national random sample (n = 500) of the members of the American College of Emergency Physicians was sent a valid and reliable questionnaire on firearm safety counseling. RESULTS: Of the 278 (56.8%) responding physicians, those who were non-white and those who were not members of the National Rifle Association (NRA) perceived firearm violence to be more of a problem than white physicians and those who were members of the NRA. The majority did not believe that patients would view them as a good source of information on firearm safety (63.3%) or that patients would accept them providing anticipatory firearm safety guidance (56.5%). The majority of the Emergency Department physicians did not believe firearm safety counseling would impact firearm-related homicides (75.2%) or suicides (70%). CONCLUSIONS: The vast majority of Emergency Physicians had never been formally trained regarding firearm safety counseling, did not believe patients would see them as credible sources, and did not believe that anticipatory guidance on firearm safety would have any impact. These data may help inform Emergency Medicine residency programs on the training needs of residents regarding anticipatory guidance on firearm safety.
Authors: Megan L Ranney; Jonathan Fletcher; Harrison Alter; Christopher Barsotti; Vikhyat S Bebarta; Marian E Betz; Patrick M Carter; Magdalena Cerdá; Rebecca M Cunningham; Peter Crane; Jahan Fahimi; Matthew J Miller; Ali Rowhani-Rahbar; Jody A Vogel; Garen J Wintemute; Muhammad Waseem; Manish N Shah Journal: Ann Emerg Med Date: 2016-12-18 Impact factor: 5.721
Authors: Christopher E Knoepke; Amanda Allen; Megan L Ranney; Garen J Wintemute; Daniel D Matlock; Marian E Betz Journal: West J Emerg Med Date: 2017-07-11
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: Caitlin Naureckas Li; Chana A Sacks; Kyle A McGregor; Peter T Masiakos; Michael R Flaherty Journal: Acad Pediatr Date: 2019-03-07 Impact factor: 3.107