Emergency Physician Survey on Firearm Injury Prevention: Where Can We Improve?

Introduction: Firearm injury and death is increasingly prevalent in the United States. Emergency physicians (EP) may have a unique role in firearm injury prevention.The aim of this study was to describe EPs ’ beliefs, attitudes, practices, and barriers to identifying risk of and counseling on firearm injury prevention with patients. A secondary aim was assessment of perceived personal vulnerability to firearm injury while working in the emergency department (ED).Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional survey of a national convenience sample of EPs, using questions adapted from the American College of Surgeons ’ Committee on Trauma 2017 survey of surgeons. Descriptive statistics and chi-square tests were calculated as appropriate.Results: A total of 1901 surveys were completed by EPs from across the United States. Among respondents, 42.9% had a firearm at home, and 56.0% had received firearm safety training. Although...
Source: Western Journal of Emergency Medicine - Category: Emergency Medicine Source Type: research