Continuing Medical Education and Firearm Violence Counseling

doi:10.1001/journalofethics.2018.20.1.stas1-1801

Cited by 22 publications

(5 citation statements)

References 25 publications

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“…Lack of knowledge is cited by physicians as a primary barrier to firearm counseling in a clinical setting [ 12 ]. Groups such as the American College of Physicians [ 17 ], California Medical Association [ 18 ], and American Academy of Pediatrics [ 19 ] support physician screening for firearm violence prevention, and research suggests that 65 to 93 percent of physicians recognize firearm counseling as within a physician’s scope of practice [ 20 ]. Physicians may need education and training on firearm injury prevention in order to incorporate it into their practices.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Talking about firearm injury prevention with patients: a survey of medical residents

et al. 2022

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Background Firearm injury and death are significant public health problems in the U.S. and physicians are uniquely situated to help prevent them. However, there is little formal training in medical education on identifying risk for firearm injury and discussing safe firearm practices with patients. This study assesses prior education, barriers to counseling, and needs for improved training on firearm safety counseling in medical education to inform the development of future education on clinical strategies for firearm injury prevention. Method A 2018 survey administered to 218 residents and fellows at a large, academic medical center asked about medical training on firearm injury prevention, frequency of asking patients about firearm access, and perceived barriers. Results The most common barriers cited were not knowing what to do with patients’ answers about access to firearms (72.1%), not having enough time (66.2%), not feeling comfortable identifying patients at-risk for firearm injury (49.2%), and not knowing how to ask patients about firearm access (48.6%). Prior education on firearm injury prevention was more strongly associated with asking than was personal exposure to firearms: 51.5% of respondents who had prior medical education reported asking compared with who had not received such education (31.8%, p=0.004). More than 90% of respondents were interested in further education about interventions, what questions to ask, and legal mechanisms to separate dangerous people from their firearms. Conclusions Education on assessing risk for firearm-related harm and, when indicated, counseling on safe firearm practices may increase the likelihood clinicians practice this behavior, though additional barriers exist.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Talking about firearm injury prevention with patients: a survey of medical residents

et al. 2022

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“…A prior study found that family physicians who received formal training on firearm safety counseling reported greater comfort in asking their patients about firearms ( 17 ). A survey of North Carolina physicians revealed that few had attended continuing medical education events on gun violence, but participation in such events was strongly associated with providing patient firearm counseling often or very often ( 31 ). Accordingly, the development of educational programs for health care professionals caring for persons with TBI addressing firearm injury prevention may be an appropriate strategy to improve their training and comfort in the provision of this education and the likelihood they will provide it.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Firearm injury prevention counseling for patients with traumatic brain injury: a survey of brain injury physicians

Ramsay,

Miranda-Cantellops,

Acosta

et al. 2023

Front. Neurol.

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BackgroundSurvivors of traumatic brain injury are at increased risk for firearm-related injuries, including suicide.AimsTo determine current practices of Brain Injury Medicine (BIM) physicians and their rehabilitation teams in assessing patients’ access to firearms and in providing firearm safety education, and the impact of having received training on this topic on physicians’ likelihood of inquiring about patients’ access to firearms.Methods14-item web-based cross-sectional survey of 86 U.S. physiatrists board-certified in BIM.Results81% of respondents indicated they believe BIM physicians should counsel their patients on firearm safety but only 12.9% reported always doing so. Fifteen percent reported always inquiring about their patients’ access to firearms. 88.2% indicated having never received formal training on firearm injury prevention counseling. Physicians who received such training had 7.5 times higher odds of reporting at least sometimes inquiring about patients’ access to firearms than those who were not trained [95% confidence interval (1.94, 28.64)]. They also had 5.7 times higher odds for reporting being at least moderately comfortable providing patients firearm safety counseling [95% CI: (1.39, 23.22)].ConclusionWhile most BIM specialists who responded to this survey believe they should counsel patients on firearm safety, few always or usually do so. Moreover, most do not routinely inquire about their patients’ access to firearms. The provision of firearm injury prevention training to BIM physicians was strongly associated with an increased likelihood they will inquire about their patients’ access to guns and with an improved comfort level in providing counseling on this subject matter.

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“…Firearm-related homicide is the leading cause of death among African American males ages 15 to 24, the largest population represented in our study (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2020). Barriers to firearm screening include lack of training, time constraints, and concern for personal safety (Damari et al, 2018., Fein et al, 2000). Additionally, in the busy ED setting, many providers may assume that other members of the care team, including a social worker or consultant, may screen patients for firearm access.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Documentation of Firearm Safety Screening During Emergency Department Visits for Assault-Related Injury

Mulcahy

Goyal

Cohen

2021

Health Promotion Practice

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Assault-injured youth have an increased risk of future violence. Identifying firearm access among youth in the emergency department (ED) creates an opportunity for interventions aimed at reducing future violent events. We performed this study to determine the extent to which children with assault-related injuries are screened for access to firearms in the ED. We performed a retrospective chart review of all medical records from adolescent ED visits to an academic, tertiary care pediatric hospital in Washington DC with ICD-10 codes related to assault in a 3-month period. We found that among 252 assault-related encounters, none had any documentation of firearm access in the provider note, social work note, or psychiatry consultant note. Therefore, we concluded that firearm access screening is rarely documented in ED visits among patients who present for an assault, highlighting an important missed opportunity for firearm access screening among this high-risk group.

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Continuing Medical Education and Firearm Violence Counseling

Abstract: Firearm violence is a significant and increasing cause of mortality.

Cited by 22 publications

References 25 publications

Talking about firearm injury prevention with patients: a survey of medical residents

Talking about firearm injury prevention with patients: a survey of medical residents

Firearm injury prevention counseling for patients with traumatic brain injury: a survey of brain injury physicians

Documentation of Firearm Safety Screening During Emergency Department Visits for Assault-Related Injury

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