title: Public Opinion Regarding Whether Speaking With Patients About Firearms Is Appropriate: Results of a National Survey.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Health care providers have been encouraged to discuss firearms with patients; whether patients view these discussions as appropriate is unclear.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  To estimate, in a national sample, the perceived appropriateness of provider discussions about firearms.
  
  
  METHODS
  Probability-based online survey conducted in April 2015. Analyses used survey weights to generate nationally representative estimates.
  
  
  METHODS
  U.S. adults.
  
  
  METHODS
  3914 English-speaking adults (55% participation rate).
  
  
  METHODS
  Participants were asked, "In general, would you think it is never, sometimes, usually, or always appropriate for physicians and other health professionals to talk to their patients about firearms?"
  
  
  RESULTS
  A majority (66% [95% CI, 63% to 69%]) of participants said that it is at least sometimes appropriate for providers to talk to patients about firearms. Specifically, 23% (CI, 20% to 25%) said that provider discussions about firearms were always appropriate, 14% (CI, 11% to 16%) said that they were usually appropriate, and 30% (CI, 27% to 33%) thought they were sometimes appropriate; 34% (CI, 31% to 37%) felt that such discussions were never appropriate. Views varied by firearm ownership: 54% (CI, 52% to 57%) of gun owners said that provider discussions are at least sometimes appropriate, compared with 67% (CI, 62% to 71%) of nonowners living with an owner and 70% (CI, 66% to 74%) of nonowners not living with an owner. Firearm owners who were more likely to think that firearm discussions are at least sometimes appropriate included those with children at home (62% [CI, 57% to 67%]), those who thought that having a gun at home increases suicide risk (75% [CI, 67% to 83%), and those who thought that provider discussions of seat belts are at least sometimes appropriate (73% [CI, 70% to 75%]).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The provider discussion question did not specify clinical context.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Two thirds of non-firearm owners and over one half of firearm owners in the United States believe that health care provider discussions about firearms are at least sometimes appropriate. The observed heterogeneity underscores the need to better understand assumptions that may underlie these views, particularly among firearm owners.
  
  
  BACKGROUND
  Fund for a Safer Future and Joyce Foundation.
authors.affiliation: From the University of Colorado School of Medicine, Aurora, Colorado, and Injury Control Research Center, Harvard School of Public Health and Bouvé College of Health Sciences, Northeastern University, Boston, Massachusetts.
authors.forename: Marian E
authors.initials: ME
authors.lastname: Betz
authors.affiliation: From the University of Colorado School of Medicine, Aurora, Colorado, and Injury Control Research Center, Harvard School of Public Health and Bouvé College of Health Sciences, Northeastern University, Boston, Massachusetts.
authors.forename: Deborah
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Azrael
authors.affiliation: From the University of Colorado School of Medicine, Aurora, Colorado, and Injury Control Research Center, Harvard School of Public Health and Bouvé College of Health Sciences, Northeastern University, Boston, Massachusetts.
authors.forename: Catherine
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Barber
authors.affiliation: From the University of Colorado School of Medicine, Aurora, Colorado, and Injury Control Research Center, Harvard School of Public Health and Bouvé College of Health Sciences, Northeastern University, Boston, Massachusetts.
authors.forename: Matthew
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Miller
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D005260:Female; D005389:Firearms; D006282:Health Personnel; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010067:Ownership; D010819:Physician's Role; D011639:Public Opinion; D012449:Safety; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014481:United States; D055815:Young Adult