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  • Views of voluntary, temporary out-of-home firearm storage among individuals living in a firearm-owning home: results from a qualitative study in two states

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Original research
Views of voluntary, temporary out-of-home firearm storage among individuals living in a firearm-owning home: results from a qualitative study in two states
  1. Leslie M Barnard1,2,
  2. Christopher E Knoepke2,3,
  3. Megan McCarthy2,
  4. Ali Rowhani-Rahbar4,
  5. Bonnie J Siry-Bove5,
  6. Marian E Betz2,6
  1. 1 Epidemiology, University of Colorado School of Public Health, University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus, Aurora, Colorado, USA
  2. 2 Firearm Injury Prevention Initiative, University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus, Aurora, Colorado, USA
  3. 3 Cardiology, University of Colorado School of Medicine, University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus, Aurora, Colorado, USA
  4. 4 Epidemiology, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington, USA
  5. 5 State University of New York at Albany, Albany, New York, USA
  6. 6 Department of Emergency Medicine, University of Colorado School of Medicine, University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus, Aurora, Colorado, USA
  1. Correspondence to Leslie M Barnard, Epidemiology, University of Colorado Health, Aurora, CO 80045, USA; leslie.barnard{at}ucdenver.edu

Abstract

Introduction Firearms account for the majority of suicide deaths in the USA. A recommended approach for suicide prevention is reducing access to firearms by temporarily removing them from the home. We sought to understand how firearm owners and those who reside with them view and might use voluntary, temporary out-of-home firearm storage.

Methods From July to November 2021, we interviewed English-speaking adults in Colorado and Washington who own firearms or reside with them, using semistructured interviews. We used a team-based mixed deductive and inductive approach to code transcripts and identify themes.

Results Half of the 38 interviewees were men (53%) aged 35–54 years (40%); 92% identified as white. The average age that participants reported first having a firearm was 20.4 years; 16% reported never owning a firearm themselves, only living in homes with firearms. Qualitative findings fell into broad themes: (1) storage with family members/friends, (2) concerns/challenges with storing a firearm with a business/organization, (3) importance of trust (4) outreach methods for out-of-home storage programmes.

Conclusion Programmes for voluntary, temporary out-of-home firearm storage will not be impactful unless such storage is desired and used. Understanding views of potential storage users can help support development of acceptable and feasible programmes.

  • Firearm
  • Suicide/Self?Harm
  • Public Health

Data availability statement

Data are available upon reasonable request. Deidentified participant data are available upon request from LMB; leslie.barnard@ucdenver.edu.

http://dx.doi.org/10.1136/ip-2023-044868

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    Data availability statement

    Data are available upon reasonable request. Deidentified participant data are available upon request from LMB; leslie.barnard@ucdenver.edu.

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    Footnotes

    • Contributors LMB: planned the study, conducted qualitative interviews, coded interviews and drafted manuscript. CEK: planned the study, conducted qualitative interviews, coded interviews and added critical revisions. MM: coded interviews and added critical revisions. AR-R: planned the study and added critical revisions. BJS-B: coded interviews and added critical revisions. MEB is the guarantor, planned the study and added critical revisions.

    • Funding This study was funded by the National Institutes of Health/National Institute of Mental Health (R61MH125754), NIH/NHLBI Grant Number K23 HL153892 (Knoepke), and American Heart Association Grant Number 18CDA34110026 (Knoepke). The contents of this work are the authors’ sole responsibility and do not necessarily represent official funder views.

    • Competing interests None declared.

    • Patient and public involvement Patients and/or the public were involved in the design, or conduct, or reporting, or dissemination plans of this research. Refer to the Methods section for further details.

    • Provenance and peer review Not commissioned; externally peer reviewed.

    • Supplemental material This content has been supplied by the author(s). It has not been vetted by BMJ Publishing Group Limited (BMJ) and may not have been peer-reviewed. Any opinions or recommendations discussed are solely those of the author(s) and are not endorsed by BMJ. BMJ disclaims all liability and responsibility arising from any reliance placed on the content. Where the content includes any translated material, BMJ does not warrant the accuracy and reliability of the translations (including but not limited to local regulations, clinical guidelines, terminology, drug names and drug dosages), and is not responsible for any error and/or omissions arising from translation and adaptation or otherwise.