Effectiveness of Screening for Household Gun Ownership in an Urban Primary Care Clinic.

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

11-2023

Identifier

DOI: 10.1177/00099228231161325

Abstract

Gun-related suicide and homicide are leading causes of death among children. Little is known about the effectiveness of screening for gun ownership in primary care. We examined positive gun ownership screens over a 2.5-year period in a pediatric primary care clinic. The main outcome was a positive screen for gun ownership. The main predictors included insurance type, neighborhood median income, number of clinic visits, and other social needs. Of 19 163 patients, 474 (2.5%) screened positive for gun ownership. Patients with private insurance and from higher income neighborhoods had 2 to 3 times higher odds of a positive screen. Patients with more visits and with food insecurity had approximately 2 to 4 times the odds of a positive screen for household gun ownership. In conclusion, the rate of positive gun ownership screens was very low and far below known gun ownership rates. Improved screening methods could better identify opportunities for gun safety advocacy.

Journal Title

Clinical pediatrics

Volume

62

Issue

11

First Page

1407

Last Page

1413

MeSH Keywords

Humans; Child; Firearms; Ownership; Suicide; Homicide; Primary Health Care

Keywords

ambulatory screening; gun ownership; gun safety; injury prevention; social needs

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