Study: Education improves in-home gun safety

(Press-News.org) More information about gun safety has increasingly led parents to ask about firearms in the homes their kids visit, according to a new national study. The research will be presented at the Pediatric Academic Societies (PAS) 2025 Meeting, held April 24-28 in Honolulu.  

Every new source of information increased parents’ likelihood of asking by 40%. Researchers found that 16% of caregivers who had never received firearm safety information asked about firearms where their child was visiting, compared to 79% of those who had heard about firearm safety from eight different sources.

While education from other parents had the biggest impact, the study found that any additional source of information—such as a family member, a school official, or social media—made them more likely to ask about guns when their kids visited other homes. Hearing firearm safety information from a health care provider also increased the likelihood of asking, yet less than 9% of parents report discussing firearm safety with their providers.  

“Robust firearm education for parents builds a safer future for children where conversations about gun safety among parents and in communities are the norm rather than the exception,” said Maya Haasz, MD, associate professor at Children’s Hospital Colorado and presenting author. “As the research shows, the more education about gun safety, the safer families can be, especially when children as young as two years old can accidentally pull a trigger.”  

The findings underscore the need for ongoing, multifaceted education about gun safety, study authors say. Guns are the leading cause of death among children in the United States, research shows. 

The survey consisted of nearly 1,600 caregivers of children under the age of 18.  

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EDITOR:
Dr. Maya Haasz will present “Caregivers’ Asking About Firearms in Homes That Youth Visit: A Nationally Representative Cross-Sectional Survey” on Mon., April 28 from 3:30-3:45 PM ET. 
Reporters interested in an interview with Dr. Haasz should contact Amber Fraley at Amber Fraley amber.fraley@pasmeeting.org.
The PAS Meeting connects thousands of pediatricians and other health care providers worldwide. For more information about the PAS Meeting, please visit www.pas-meeting.org.

About the Pediatric Academic Societies Meeting
Pediatric Academic Societies (PAS) Meeting connects thousands of leading pediatric researchers, clinicians, and medical educators worldwide united by a common mission: Connecting the global academic pediatric community to advance scientific discovery and promote innovation in child and adolescent health. The PAS Meeting is produced through the partnership of four leading pediatric associations; the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), the Academic Pediatric Association (APA), the American Pediatric Society (APS), and the Society for Pediatric Research (SPR). For more information, please visit www.pas-meeting.org. Follow us on X @PASMeeting and like us on Facebook PASMeeting.

Abstract: Caregivers’ Asking About Firearms in Homes That Youth Visit: A Nationally Representative Cross-Sectional Survey

Presenting Author: Maya Haasz, MD

Organization
Children's Hospital Colorado 

Topic
Injury Prevention 

Background
Reducing unsupervised youth firearm access is associated with lower morbidity and mortality. In addition to considering firearm safety within households with youth, efforts have been extended to consider household firearms in homes that youth visit. Little is known about whether caregivers ask others about firearm access within households their youth visit (i.e. asking behaviors).

Objective
1) Estimate the prevalence of asking behaviors; 2) Evaluate the relationship between the number of distinct firearm safety information sources (e.g., class, healthcare provider, social media) and asking behaviors.
 
Design/Methods
Data is from a nationally representative cross-sectional survey of US adults conducted by Gallup May-June 2023. Participants included adults living with a child < 18 years old (unweighted n=1591). We examined distinct sources where caregivers received firearm safety information. The primary exposure was the number of distinct sources of firearm safety information. The primary outcome was whether caregivers had asked other parents about the presence of household firearms. Bivariate statistics, logistic regression, and Chi-squared statistics were used to describe independent relationships between: 1) Sociodemographics 2) Sources of firearm information and the behavioral outcome of asking about firearm safety. We performed multivariable logistic regressions and predictive marginal methods to estimate the relationship between the number of information sources and asking behaviors. Analyses were weighted and account for the complex survey design. Approved by the University of Michigan IRB.

Results
 Among this nationally representative sample of caregivers, 29.6% have asked other parents about the presence of household firearms. Each distinct source of firearm safety information received increased the likelihood of asking by 40% (Figure 1). Sources of firearm safety information most highly associated with increased asking behavior were other parents/guardians(OR 3.3; 95% CI 2.2, 5.0) and the child's school or childcare provider (OR 3.0; 95% CI 1.6, 5.7) (Table 1); all sources of firearm safety information were associated with increased asking behavior.

Conclusion(s)
Enhancing household firearm safety behaviors is important to pediatric firearm injury prevention. Unlike previous studies exploring the credibility of different messenger types (i.e., veterans, providers), our findings underscore the value of safety messaging from multiple distinct sources. This has important implications to increase asking about firearms at other homes, and may be useful for other forms of firearm safety education.

Tables and Images
Table 1.jpg
Figure 1.jpg

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