Most Americans have strong feelings about gun control, whether in favor of more or less. Legislation has even been passed restricting physicians from discussing guns with patients. What is your opinion about healthcare professionals discussing safekeeping of guns in the home?
Gun ownership and regulation is a very emotional issue in the U.S. and there has been strong reaction to whether physicians and other healthcare providers should be involved in doing more to curb gun related injuries and deaths. I would like to hear some of your opinions regarding physician involvement, but first let's look at some of the gun statistics in the U.S.
More than 108,000 people are shot per year in murders, assaults, suicides, suicide attempts, unintentional shootings or by police intervention.
* More than 32,000 of them die.
* The U.S. has the most gun homicides of any developed nation. 29.7 per 100,000.
* Everyday 297 people are shot.
* 89 people die.
* 31 of them are murdered.
* 55 are suicides.
* 2 are killed unintentionally.
* 1 is killed by police.
* 1 is unknown intent.
* One in five deaths are people ages 15-29.
Over 17,000 American children and teens are injured or killed each year due to gun violence.
* 2,677 of those children die.
* Nearly 48 youth are shot per day including 7 fatalities.
* 5 are murdered and 2 are suicides.
1 in 3 homes with children have guns.
* 42% of parents with guns keep at least one unlocked.
* 25% of parents with guns keep at least loaded.
* 3 in 4 children know where firearms are kept in the home.
(Statistics; bradycampaign.org).
It has been suggested that clinicians could play a major role in reducing children's access to guns by asking if there is a gun in the home, and if so, counseling on firearm storage practices. One study showed that patients who received counseling on firearm storage were more likely to make a change in storage practice than patients who did not receive counseling. (64% vs 33%). (J Am Board Fam.Pract).
Pediatrician's offices and hospitals routinely give out infant and car seats, would it also be appropriate to distribute trigger locks and lockboxes? Firearm related injuries are a public health issue, so should there be public health initiatives regarding firearms such as there have been for reducing tobacco, toy and motor vehicle related deaths?
Frankly I am shocked by how paranoid so many American gun owners are, how secretive and afraid of the government. So afraid that they are hesitant to answer a screening question about gun safety in the home where children live. Gunshot wounds kill more children in this country each year than childhood cancers. One of my children's playmates was killed by an accidental shooting involving another child and an unsecured handgun years ago. Why are we, as gun owners, so afraid to answer questions about our weapons? This is a health screening question based upon the fact that children die and are injured by firearms at an unacceptable rate. Why is it scary?
If 500 children per year died and thousands more were injured by chainsaw I would expect that health practitioners might begin educating on the safe use of chainsaws. Would we be paranoid about answering those screening questions too? Or is this only related to guns? At least chainsaws were designed for the purpose of cutting down trees or standing lumber. Guns were designed for the purpose of killing things. Sometimes we use them for target shooting and marksmanship rather than for killing but that is sort of like using a chainsaw to carve ice; it's fun but does not change the original purpose.
You folks in the lower 48 are slowly losing your minds I think.
The NVDRS is the only national database that tracks unintentionally firearms related deaths in children. There were 16 unintentional
Unfortunately, only 17 states contributed to the statistics that year for that specific reporting group but Alaska was one of them.
Not sure where the 500 is coming from unless one counts intentional homicide.
The issue was not that the question was being asked, the issue is whether the question is necessary or pertinent and whether it becomes a barrier to healthcare like it already has shown to be.
Nice snark. Peds now ends at 14? And therefore gunshot deaths for the 15-24 year old age group are acceptable, just the cost of doing business?
14-24 is more considered a legal grouping rather than a legal. Teenagers are generally considered to be approaching a level of competence to be considered approaching an adult, hence why they can be charged as an adult and why age of consent is in some places 16.
The age range of 14-24 typically includes more intentional homicide issues rather than unintentional firearm deaths which is the rationale for asking the question of firearm ownership and storage in the peds world.
Firearm fatalities may be lower when firearms are illegal, but CRIME isn't lower. Criminals can and do exist, regardless of the presence of a gun. Homicides still happen -- they just use something other than a gun.
Yeah, I've seen that before but have reason to question its validity. Also, we seem to be wandering far afield of the topic at hand, which isn't gun control at all. It's health screening, if I remember correctly.
Drug use is a medical issue and something I would expect nurses to inquire about, but I have never asked a patient if they are an illegal immigrant or a gun owner.
We're conflating issues here. One issue is whether gun ownership is a valid health screening question. A separate issue is what one does with the information.
BTDT brought up specifically what a nurse would do if they found out their patient was a felon in possession of a firearm. This seemed more like the second issue than the first, so I was comparing BTDT's example of illegal activity with other examples we sometimes encounter to show that the answer is most likely the same. Clear as mud, yeah?
I have to ask about firearms, because I'm dealing with psychiatric patients that are potentially dangers to themselves or others. Also, some are or have been on legal holds, which prohibits them from owning firearms for a set period (a few years up to forever). I don't judge, don't demand they get rid of them, and don't report to the authorities anything other than what I am legally required to. I'm asking for safety reasons, and I ask it of every patient regardless of their age, gender or reason for admission.
I just don't ask about guns though: I ask about other weapons. If they have a history of suicide attempts or verbalized suicidal ideation with a plan, I'll ask whether they have access to their means. Though to be honest, someone who really wants to kill themselves will find a way to do so no matter what is said or done :/
Asystole RN
2,352 Posts
The NVDRS is the only national database that tracks unintentionally firearms related deaths in children. There were 16 unintentional
Unfortunately, only 17 states contributed to the statistics that year for that specific reporting group but Alaska was one of them.
Not sure where the 500 is coming from unless one counts intentional homicide.
The issue was not that the question was being asked, the issue is whether the question is necessary or pertinent and whether it becomes a barrier to healthcare like it already has shown to be.