258 - Firearm Safe Storage Education in a Pediatric Healthcare System: Evaluating Impact by Role

Publication Number: 2248.258

Ashley Wolf, Comer Children's Hospital at University of Chicago Medical Center, CHICAGO, IL, United States; Alexandra Knitter, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL, United States; Jaden Ugbaja, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL, United States; Bolanle Ogbara, University of Chicago Division of the Biological Sciences The Pritzker School of Medicine, Chicago, IL, United States; Monica Kowalczyk, University of Chicago Division of the Biological Sciences The Pritzker School of Medicine, Chicago, IL, United States; Anna Volerman, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL, United States

Background: Firearm injuries are the leading cause of death for children in the United States. Firearm access, particularly to unlocked and loaded firearms, is a risk factor for injury. A promising strategy to prevent such pediatric injuries is firearm safe storage (FSS) counseling.

Objective: This study evaluated impact of FSS education on health care professionals' knowledge, self-efficacy, and intent to implement training into practice and examined differences by role.

Design/Methods: As part of a health system wide program in an urban setting, education about firearm safe storage was delivered to healthcare professionals in various roles and clinical settings between March-October 2025. Participants completed surveys immediately before and after the education session. Surveys included questions about FSS knowledge, self-efficacy, and intent to implement training in practice (multiple choice, likert scale). Analyses included descriptive statistics and Chi-squared tests to compare by role.

Results: A total of 291 participants engaged in 13 education sessions, and 76 completed pre- and post-surveys. The majority of those who completed education and surveys were healthcare providers (75%, n=57), comprising resident physicians (46%, n=26), attending physicians (42%, n=24), and nurse practitioners (12%, n=7). The remainder were nurses (25%, n=19). Participants worked across both inpatient (80%, n=61) and outpatient (14%, n=11) settings.
Overall, knowledge of optimal safe storage and safety device use increased as a result of the session (pre: n=53/76, 70%; post: n=66/67, 99%, p< 0.001). Both providers (pre: n=22/57, 39%; post: n=45/50, 90%, p=0.02) and nurses (pre: n=5/19, 26%; post: n=12/17, 71%, p=0.002) had improved self-efficacy for FSS counseling post-education. A higher proportion of providers reported confidence compared to nurses at both time points, however it was not statistically significant (p=0.052). Post-education, most providers (92%, n=46/50) and nurses (76%, n=13/17) planned to implement FSS counseling, with no statistically significant difference between roles (p=0.2).

Conclusion(s): Formal FSS education implemented across a pediatric health system resulted in improved knowledge, self-efficacy, and intent to implement FSS counseling for both providers and nurses completing education. Some differences were seen by role, which may be influenced by participants' specific clinical responsibilities as well as a total participants in the education. Further efforts should strive to understand and address limitations to implementation by role to maximally reach patients and families at risk for firearm injury.

Table 1.
Firearm Safe Storage Education Session pre- and post-responses by role