Firearm Injury Prevention (2004)
Undergraduate: Briana Webster
Faculty Advisor: Tamera Coyne-Beasley
Department: Health Policy & Management
Firearm injuries and deaths are of great concern in the United States. Firearm injuries are the 2nd leading cause of injury death in the U.S., and have killed more that 28,000 Americans every year since 1972. Although many people worry about homicide being the leading cause of death, the majority of gun deaths among all ages in the United States are suicides. Children are also at great risk of potential injury due to firearms. When guns are introduced into homes with children and adolescents, it substantially increases their chance of being injured or killed by the firearm. Youth ages 10-18 are more likely to die from a firearm injury than any other medical illness. The main objectives of this project are to determine the firearm storage practices of gun-owning parents, to provide firearm safe storage counseling to gun-owning parents, to encourage parents to take an active role in the safety of their children, to help parents understand firearm injury and prevention, and ultimately to reduce firearm injury among children and adolescents. We found that many parents do not practice safe gun-storage techniques. Most parents do not talk to their friends and family members about their gun-storage practices. Many Durham County residents, particularly men, are not aware of the associated risks of gun ownership for self-protection. Women are usually not as informed as their husbands or partners about firearm storage practices within their homes. We conclude that more firearm injury counseling is necessary to inform the public of firearm injuries and the potential benefit of safe firearm storage practices. Community outreach efforts are important for the safety of children in Durham County. Gun safety is truly a public health issue that needs to be addressed on the local, state, and federal level.