Firearm Safety Resources

Supporting Patient Safety Through Education, Screening, and Prevention

The United States does not track or maintain official records of firearm ownership. However, according to a Pew Research Center survey, about four-in-ten U.S. adults say they live in a household with a gun, including 32% who say they personally own one.

Firearm-related injuries, suicides, and acts of violence remain a significant public health concern. Primary care physicians can play an especially important role in identifying risk factors, counseling patients on safe firearm storage, and connecting individuals and families with appropriate resources.

Whether addressing concerns about suicide risk, behavioral health, or firearm access in the home, clinicians can help prevent harm through informed, respectful conversations and evidence-based interventions. The resources below are designed to support physicians in these efforts.

CME and Educational Programs

• Firearms: Screening, Suicide Prevention, and Community Engagement
  Learn practical approaches to discussing firearm safety, assessing risk, and connecting patients with community resources.

• Protecting Patients and Preventing Harm: ERPOs as a Clinical Tool
  Explore Massachusetts Extreme Risk Protection Order (ERPO) laws and how clinicians can use this intervention when a patient may pose a risk to themselves or others.

Additional Clinical Tools and Education

• Reducing Harm – Having Conversations about Firearm Storage (NEJM)

• Improving Trauma-Informed Care in the Face of Firearm Violence (NEJM)

• Counseling on Access to Lethal Means (ZERO SUICIDE)

• This is Awkward – Promoting Clinic Discussions and Evaluation of Gun Ownership Practices and Individual Risk (The American Journal of Medicine)

Printable Patient and Physician Educational Materials

• Printable Firearms Patient Information

• Printable Firearms Physician Information

• ERPO Reference Pocket Card

• PHQ-9 – A validated screening tool for depression and suicide risk

Community and Professional Organizations

Connect with organizations working to reduce firearm injury and violence, including:

• American Public Health Association: Gun Violence

• Louis D. Brown Peace Institute

• Transforming Narratives of Gun Violence

• Violence Intervention Advocacy Program (VIAP)

• Means Matter

Help Prevent Injury and Save Lives

Thoughtful conversations about firearm safety can make a meaningful difference for patients and families. Use these resources to enhance your knowledge, strengthen your clinical approach, and support efforts to reduce firearm-related injury, suicide, and violence.