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Original research
Exploratory qualitative study of firearm storage practices among surgeons in the USA: contexts and motivations
  1. Shelbie D Waddle1,2,
  2. Arielle Thomas1,3,
  3. Brendan T Campbell4,
  4. Marian E Betz5,6,
  5. Julie K Johnson2,
  6. Regina Royan7,8,
  7. Alexander Ellyin9,
  8. Angie Jang10,
  9. Marie L Crandall11,
  10. Anne M Stey2
  1. 1Department of Trauma, American College of Surgeons, Chicago, Illinois, USA
  2. 2Department of Surgery, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago, Illinois, USA
  3. 3Department of Surgery, Medical College of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA
  4. 4Department of Pediatric Surgery, Connecticut Children's Medical Center, Hartford, Connecticut, USA
  5. 5Department of Emergency Medicine, University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus School of Medicine, Aurora, Colorado, USA
  6. 6VA Eastern Colorado Geriatric Research Education and Clinical Center, Rocky Mountain Regional VA Medical Center, Aurora, Colorado, USA
  7. 7Department of Emergency Medicine, University of Michigan-Ann Arbor, Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA
  8. 8Department of Emergency Medicine, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago, Illinois, USA
  9. 9Rosalind Franklin University of Medicine and Science, North Chicago, Illinois, USA
  10. 10Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois, USA
  11. 11Department of Surgery, University of Florida College of Medicine - Jacksonville, Jacksonville, Florida, USA
  1. Correspondence to Dr Shelbie D Waddle, Department of Surgery Chicago, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago, Illinois, USA; shelbiewaddle{at}gmail.com

Abstract

Background A US survey of surgeons found that 32% store firearms unlocked and loaded. This study explored conditions and contexts impacting personal firearm storage methods among surgeons.

Methods We conducted semi-structured interviews with English-speaking fellows of the American College of Surgeons who treated patients injured by firearms and who owned or lived in homes with firearms. Participants were recruited through email and subsequent snowball sampling from April 2022 to August 2022. All interviews were audio-recorded and transcribed verbatim. Thematic analysis was applied to transcripts to identify codes. A mixed deductive and inductive approach was used for data reduction and sorting.

Results A total of 32 surgeons were interviewed; most were male and white. Dominant themes for firearm storage practices were based on (1) attitudes; (2) perceived norms; (3) personal agency; and (4) intention of firearm use. Personal agency often conflicted with attitudes and perceived norms for surgeons owning firearms for self-defence.

Conclusions Storage practices in this sample of firearm-owning surgeons were driven by intent for firearm use, coupled with attitudes, perceived norms and personal agency. Personal agency often conflicted with attitudes and perceived norms, especially for surgeons who owned their firearm for self-defence.

  • Firearm
  • Behavior Change
  • Qualitative research
  • Attitudes
  • Behavior

Data availability statement

Data are available upon reasonable request.

https://doi.org/10.1136/ip-2023-045205

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    Data availability statement

    Data are available upon reasonable request.

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    Footnotes

    • X @shelbi3k, @AnneMStey

    • Contributors SDW and AT have contributed equally to this work (joint first authorship): study design, data acquisition, statistical analysis, manuscript drafting, editing. BC: study design, data analysis, critical revisions. MEB: study design, data analysis, critical revisions. JKJ: study design, data analysis, critical revisions. RR: study design, data analysis, critical revisions. AE: data analysis, critical revisions. AJ: data analysis, critical revisions. MLC: study design, critical revisions. AS: study design, data analysis, manuscript drafting, critical revisions.

    • Funding Anne M. Stey was funded by Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (R18HS029483), National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (K23HL157832-01).

    • Competing interests None declared.

    • Patient and public involvement Patients and/or the public were not involved in the design, or conduct, or reporting, or dissemination plans of this research.

    • 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.