Promoting Safe Firearm Storage in an Urban Neighborhood: The Views of Parents Concerning the Role of Health Care Providers

Pediatric clinics are uniquely positioned to assess and advocate for the health and safety of Chicago’s children in relation to accidental firearm-related injury and death. The best means of counseling families should be tailored to the individual community and patient population. We aimed to determine rates of firearm ownership and attitudes towards counseling about firearms in a community on the west side of Chicago with high rates of gun violence. An anonymous survey about gun ownership was administered at a federally qualified health center. The survey was completed by 206 adults with children less than 18 living in the home. A minority of participants (8.3%; n = 17) indicated that a gun was kept in or around the home. The majority of firearm owners reported using safe storage practices. However, just over half of the gun owners and non-gun owners had a favorable opinion of counseling about firearm safety in healthcare settings. Other strategies in addition to physician counseling will be required to promote safe firearm storage in this neighborhood with high rates of community violence.