Should Healthcare Professionals Ask About Guns in the Home?

[P-RN]

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?

[Farawyn]

tmb is afraid of guns?

Maybe we should alert the moose. And bear. Or whatever else he's having for dinner tonight.

[toomuchbaloney]

tmb is afraid of guns?

Maybe we should alert the moose. And bear. Or whatever else he's having for dinner tonight.

Funny how some of us gun lovers can actually approve of a health screening question regarding guns in the home, eh?

We even can be completely intolerant of childhood deaths and injuries because too many people who should not have guns do have them. The vast majority of gunshot deaths and injuries in children are completely avoidable.

I continue to maintain that American gun owners are beginning to sound like paranoid and frightened individuals, unwilling to even answer health screening questions. Personally, the combination of fear, paranoia, and guns does not seem safe and frankly, the national data on gun violence in this country suggest that I am correct.

We already ask questions about pools and water safety and cars and bikes...only the cowardly gun owners want us to exclude this important question about gun safety...presumably because they are afraid of what their disclosures might mean for THEM, not what they might mean for children.

[dream'n, BSN, RN]

Long thread so I thought I'd just butt in. Haven't read the whole thread, but please no more questions to ask on admission. Please add nothing else to my workload, unless you plan on taking something away. And guns, I know nothing about guns...how could I do patient teaching on gun safety?? All I could say is keep them locked away from children and hide the key?? And I think everyone already knows that.

[Farawyn]

Long thread so I thought I'd just butt in. Haven't read the whole thread but please no more questions to ask on admission. Please add nothing else to my workload, unless you plan on taking something away. And guns, I know nothing about guns...how could I do patient teaching on gun safety?? All I could say is keep them locked away from children and hide the key?? And I think everyone already knows that.[/quote']

Do they?

Maybe you should read the entire thread.

[AndyB]

* 89 people die.

* The U.S. has the most gun homicides of any developed nation. 29.7 per 100,000.

Your stats are WAY OFF. It is 29.7 per 1,000,000 which amounts to 2.97 per 100,000

Gun homicides and gun ownership listed by country | News | The Guardian

89 people die? 89 x 365= 32485. According to the FBI 8,454 homicides occurred by firearm in 2013.

https://www.fbi.gov/about-us/cjis/ucr/crime-in-the-u.s/2013/crime-in-the-u.s.-2013/offenses-known-to-law-enforcement/expanded-homicide/expanded_homicide_data_table_8_murder_victims_by_weapon_2009-2013.xls

[toomuchbaloney]

FastStats - Injuries

[h=3]All injury deaths[/h]

• Number of deaths: 192,945
  
• Deaths per 100,000 population: 60.2
  

[h=3]All poisoning deaths[/h]

• Number of deaths: 48,545
  
• Deaths per 100,000 population: 15.4
  

[h=3]Motor vehicle traffic deaths[/h]

• Number of deaths: 33,804
  
• Deaths per 100,000 population: 10.7
  

[h=3]All firearm deaths[/h]

• Number of deaths: 33,636
  
• Deaths per 100,000 population: 10.6
  

OF course, it is important to remember that the CDC has been banned from researching issues of gun violence in the USA for quite a spell now. And yes, nearly 90 people per day die from gunshot injuries in this country although it is clear that some want to porifice and pick at that number out of fear that their personal "right" to bear arms might be infringed.

[AndyB]

FastStats - Injuries

OF course, it is important to remember that the CDC has been banned from researching issues of gun violence in the USA for quite a spell now. And yes, nearly 90 people per day die from gunshot injuries in this country although it is clear that some want to porifice and pick at that number out of fear that their personal "right" to bear arms might be infringed.

You are counting suicides and accidental deaths also. My link to the FBI is for HOMICIDES as the initial poster claimed "The U.S. has the most gun homicides of any developed nation. 29.7 per 100,000." which is false.

[subee, MSN, CRNA]

So now it's the Battle of the Statisticians. Have a hard time with any nurse who has ever worked in a big-city ER could ever see the gun issue as a public health problem rather than a 2nd Amendment issue. The 2nd Amendment gave us the right to carry a musket.

[Galendria]

This is a crazy long thread, but I just wanted to add my 2 cents in.

1. I'm a gun owner. I grew up in the southeast where guns, bows, hunting, and fishing are a way of life.

2. I would never be offended if a healthcare worker asked me either at my or my child's checkup if guns were secured correctly.

3. Asking about gun safety was routine at the children's hospital I worked at during admission assessment. Right along with car safety, bike safety, water safety, prescription drug/household cleaner safety, etc. Our priority as health care providers is to provide preventive teaching to families. Education isn't always initially welcome (think the 500 lb person who is chugging Coca-Cola all day long being advised to switch to diet soda or the smoker with COPD who is advised to quit smoking, or the end stage liver failure patient who wants to go on the transplant list but needs to stop drinking to do so). Every now and then a parent might be offended that routine household screening questions are being asked....but does that mean we stop screening? I don't think so.

4. Now that I work in adult med-surg we don't routinely screen for gun access as much, but if my patient is suicidal you bet I ask. Especially in a patient with a plan.

Bottom line, guns are not evil, but sometimes they are used incorrectly. Ensuring guns are secured correctly in households with children is extremely important.

[toomuchbaloney]

You are counting suicides and accidental deaths also. My link to the FBI is for HOMICIDES as the initial poster claimed "The U.S. has the most gun homicides of any developed nation. 29.7 per 100,000." which is false.

I understood what your post reflected. I am simply counting ALL deaths from gunshot because all deaths matter.