What is it about?

In rural areas, gun ownership is common and firearm-related suicides are increasing. Storing firearms securely can reduce risk for suicide and other types of firearm injury. In this paper, we explain the process for developing and evaluating the preliminary impact of a new culturally-tailored, online safe storage intervention for rural families called “Store Safely.”

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Why is it important?

Community participation and input was key to Store Safely’s creation. Results suggest that families found Store Safely to be feasible and acceptable as 97.7% completed all steps of the online intervention. In a follow-up survey, participants reported a significant increase in the number of firearms stored locked. Other improvements included purchasing gun storage devices, separating ammunition from weapons, reviewing the safety of current storage practices, and relocating firearms to reduce child access. These results suggest that culturally-tailored safe storage interventions may be promising strategies in rural communities.

Perspectives

“As a member of this rural community and a public health educator, the feedback from community members that participated in the intervention was most important to me. To hear that the intervention ‘felt like it was a neighbor talking to me’ meant that we had accomplished what we hoped; an intervention that was culturally tailored to this rural area.” - Sarah Derwin, Marquette County Health Department

Sarah Derwin
Marquette County Health Department

Read the Original

This page is a summary of: Store safely: A firearm injury prevention strategy for rural families., Rural Mental Health, October 2024, American Psychological Association (APA),
DOI: 10.1037/rmh0000276.
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