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Association of Increased Safe Household Firearm Storage With Firearm Suicide and Unintentional Death Among US Youths.
- Source :
-
JAMA pediatrics [JAMA Pediatr] 2019 Jul 01; Vol. 173 (7), pp. 657-662. - Publication Year :
- 2019
-
Abstract
- Importance: Firearm injury is the second leading cause of death in the United States for children and young adults. The risk of unintentional and self-inflicted firearm injury is lower when all household firearms are stored locked.<br />Objective: To estimate the reduction in youth firearm suicide and unintentional firearm mortality that would result if more adults in households with youth stored household guns locked.<br />Design, Setting, and Participants: A modeling study using Monte Carlo simulation of youth firearm suicide and unintentional firearm mortality in 2015. A simulated US national sample of firearm-owning households where youth reside was derived using nationally representative rates of firearm ownership and storage and population data from the US Census to test a hypothetical intervention, safe storage of firearms in the home, on youth accidental death and suicide. Data analyses were performed from August 3, 2017, to January 9, 2018.<br />Exposures: Observed and counterfactual household-level safe firearm storage (ie, storing all firearms locked), the latter estimated by varying the probability that a hypothetical intervention increased safe firearm storage beyond that observed in 2015.<br />Main Outcomes and Measures: Observed and counterfactual counts of firearm suicide and unintentional firearm mortality among youth aged 0 to 19 years, the latter estimated by incorporating an empirically based estimate of the mortality benefit expected from additional safe storage (beyond that observed in 2015).<br />Results: A hypothetical intervention among firearm owners residing with children with a 20% probability of motivating these owners to lock all household firearms was significantly associated with a projected reduction in youth firearm mortality (median incidence rate ratio = 0.90; interquartile range, 0.87-0.93). In the overall model, 6% to 32% of deaths were estimated to be preventable depending on the probability of motivating safer storage.<br />Conclusions and Relevance: Results of this modeling study suggest that a relatively modest uptake of a straightforward safe storage recommendation-lock all household firearms-could result in meaningful reductions in firearm suicide and unintentional firearm fatalities among youth. Approaches that will motivate additional parents to store firearms safely are needed.
- Subjects :
- Accidents, Home trends
Adolescent
Child
Child, Preschool
Female
Humans
Incidence
Infant
Infant, Newborn
Male
Massachusetts epidemiology
Monte Carlo Method
Retrospective Studies
Suicide trends
Survival Rate trends
Wounds, Gunshot prevention & control
Young Adult
Accidents, Home prevention & control
Family Characteristics
Firearms
Wounds, Gunshot epidemiology
Suicide Prevention
Subjects
Details
- Language :
- English
- ISSN :
- 2168-6211
- Volume :
- 173
- Issue :
- 7
- Database :
- MEDLINE
- Journal :
- JAMA pediatrics
- Publication Type :
- Academic Journal
- Accession number :
- 31081861
- Full Text :
- https://doi.org/10.1001/jamapediatrics.2019.1078