Evidence map›Paper›PMID 40022212›Full record

ArticleInjury epidemiology2025

Understanding caregiver preferences for firearm locking devices in a pediatric emergency department.

Tyler Lennon, Samaa Kemal, Sanjana Shankar, Robert Tunick, Doug Lorenz, Jennifer A Hoffmann

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Injury epidemiology, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
1citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

1 citing paper in PubMed.

  1. Safety Planning for Youth in the Emergency Department Who Have Suicide Risk.Journal of the American College of Emergency Physicians open · 2025
    Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

6 authors.

Tyler LennonDivision of Pediatric Emergency Medicine, Department of Pediatrics, Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children'S Hospital of Chicago, Chicago, IL, USA. tlennon@mcw.edu.
Samaa KemalDivision of Pediatric Emergency Medicine, Department of Pediatrics, Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children'S Hospital of Chicago, Chicago, IL, USA.
Sanjana ShankarDivision of Pediatric Emergency Medicine, Department of Pediatrics, Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children'S Hospital of Chicago, Chicago, IL, USA.
Robert TunickDivision of Pediatric Emergency Medicine, Department of Pediatrics, Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children'S Hospital of Chicago, Chicago, IL, USA.
Doug LorenzDepartment of Bioinformatics and Biostatistics, University of Louisville, Louisville, KY, USA.
Jennifer A HoffmannDivision of Pediatric Emergency Medicine, Department of Pediatrics, Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children'S Hospital of Chicago, Chicago, IL, USA.

Funding

Caring Contacts via text message for suicidal adolescents after emergency department dischargeK23MH135206 · NIMH · LURIE CHILDREN'S HOSPITAL OF CHICAGO · PI Jennifer Ann Hoffmann · 2024 to 2026
$570k
NIMH NIH HHS K23 MH135206NIMH NIH HHS K23MH135206
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundAround 40% of US households with children have a firearm kept in the home. This study sought to describe firearm storage practices and locking device preferences among caregivers of children presenting to a pediatric emergency department (ED).

methodsWe conducted a cross-sectional survey of caregivers of children presenting to a pediatric ED who endorsed having a firearm in the home from August 2023 to May 2024. A self-administered electronic survey inquired about current firearm storage practices and locking device preferences. Caregivers who endorsed any unsafe firearm storage practice (i.e., firearm stored unlocked, loaded, and/or with ammunition) were offered, based on their preference, a free cable gun lock, lock box, or gun safe along with safe firearm storage education materials. Caregivers given a device were surveyed 30 days later to reevaluate firearm storage behavior. McNemar's test was used to evaluate differences in reported baseline locking device use. Wilcoxon signed rank test was used to evaluate changes in storage behaviors (locked, unloaded, and stored separate from ammunition) from baseline to 30-day follow-up.

resultsOf 139 caregivers with a firearm in the home, 91% (n = 126) reported having a handgun and 41% (n = 57) reported storing firearms with triple safe storage. Safes/vaults were more frequently used (40%, n = 56) than cable gun locks (20%, n = 28) (p = 0.003). Factors involved in caregiver preference for firearm locking devices were: speed of access to firearms (47%, n = 66), strength of the device (45%, n = 63), and cost of device (42%, n = 58). Seventeen caregivers were provided a free device based on preference: 15 gun safes, 2 lock boxes, and 0 cable gun locks. At 30-day follow up, 70.6% (n = 12) of eligible caregivers responded, and the proportion of respondents who reported storing all firearms locked increased significantly from baseline (from 67 to 100%, p = 0.036).

conclusionsCaregivers in a pediatric ED reported using safes most frequently and, when offered a device, preferred safes over other locking devices. After being provided a free device of their preference, all caregivers who completed follow-up surveys reported all firearms were locked. Healthcare and community organizations should align resources with caregiver preferences.

Indexed as

FirearmsInjury preventionMental healthPediatricsSafe storage

Identifiers

PMID40022212
PMCPMC11869430

What OpenQuestion holds

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Registered trials

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.