Blog

Hear from experts working to reduce firearm injury

Peer-Reviewed Article

Storage Practices of US Gun Owners in 2016

Crifasi, C.K., Doucette, M.L., McGinty, E.E., et al.
American Journal of Public Health , 2018

An online survey of gun owners in the Unites States revealed that several personal factors influenced the safe storage of guns, such as family discussions and children. It also revealed that organizations like law enforcement, hunting or outdoors groups, active-duty military, and the National Rifle Association were ranked as most effective in communicating gun safety measures.

Peer-Reviewed Article

Firearm Storage in Gun-owning Households with Children: Results of a 2015 National Survey

Azrael, D. , Cohen, J., Salhi, C., et al.
Journal of Urban Health , 2018

Examining the prevalence of firearms and their storage practices in homes with children, this study found that the percentage of households with a firearm that is kept unlocked and loaded has increased by about 7%, highlighting the need for better efforts in reducing children's' exposure to unsafely stored firearms.

Peer-Reviewed Article

Gun Storage Practices and Risk of Youth Suicide and Unintentional Firearm Injuries

Dowd, M.D., Villaveces, A., Prodzinski, J., et al.
Journal of the American Medical Association, 2005

Although health authorities advocate for safe firearm storage to prevent access of firearms to children and adolescents, the association of safe firearm storage practices and the risk of firearm injury was long unclear. This study looking at homes found that the practices of keeping a gun locked, unloaded, storing ammunition locked, and in a separate location were each associated with a reduced risk in firearm injuries.

Peer-Reviewed Article

Firearms in US Homes as a Risk Factor for Unintentional Gunshot Fatality

Wiebe, D.J.
Accident Analysis & Prevention, 2003

Having firearms in the home was found to be a risk factor for unintentional gunshot fatality in this study examining a sample of adults who died in the United States in 1993 from unintentional gunshot injuries.

Peer-Reviewed Article

Mortality Among Recent Purchasers of Handguns

Wintemute, G.J., Parham, C.A., Beaumont, J.J., et al.
New England Journal of Medicine , 1999

In this population based cohort study looking at handgun purchasers in California in 1991, researchers found that recent purchase of a handgun can increase the risk of suicide by a firearm.

Peer-Reviewed Article

The Accessibility of Firearms and Risk for Suicide and Homicide Victimization among Household Members: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis

Anglemyer, A., Horvath, T., & Rutherford, G.
Annals of Internal Medicine., 2014.

This systematic review and meta-analysis found that access to firearms was associated with risk for suicide and being the victim of homicide.

Peer-Reviewed Article

State-level Homicide Victimization Rates in the US in Relation to Survey Measures of Household Firearm Ownership

Miller, M., Hemenway, D., & Azrael, D.
Social Science & Medicine, 2007

This study examining the role of household firearms in homicides in the United States found that states with higher incidence of households with firearms had significantly higher rates of homicide.

Peer-Reviewed Article

Household Firearm Ownership and Rates of Suicide Across the 50 United States

Miller, M., Lippmann, S.J., Azrael, D. et al.
The Journal of Trauma and Acute Care Surgery, 2007

This paper found that household firearm ownership was strongly associated with higher rates of suicide in the United States.

Peer-Reviewed Article

Prevalence of Household Firearms and Firearm Storage Practices in the 50 States and the District of Columbia: Findings from the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System

Okoro, C.A., Nelson, D.E., Mercy, J.A., et al.
Pediatrics, 2002

Using data from data from the 2002 cross-sectional Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System survey, this study aimed to find prevalence of household firearms and firearm-storage practices as well as the number of children exposed to unsafe storage practices.

Peer-Reviewed Article

The Stock and Flow of U.S. Firearms: Results from the 2015 National Firearms Survey

Azrael, D., Hepburn, L., Hemenway, D., et al.
The Russell Sage Foundation Journal of the Social Sciences., 2017.

Using the first nationally representative survey of firearm ownership and use in more than a decade, this article aimed to better characterize private ownership and use of firearms in the United States, including the exchange of firearms amongst people.

Peer-Reviewed Article

The Epidemiology of Firearm Violence in the Twenty-first Century United States

Wintemute, G.J.
Annual Review of Public Health, 2015

This review summarizes several epidemiological factors contributing to firearm violence in the United States.

External Resource

The Committee on Trauma (COT): Firearm Injury Prevention

Resources and recommendations to addressing firearm injury prevention by the American College of Surgeons Committee on Trauma (ACS COT) leadership and the Injury Prevention Committee.

© 2025 BulletPoints Project. All rights reserved.