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Introduction: The American College of Emergency Physicians supports community- and hospital-based programs that intervene to prevent firearm-related injury. To this end, the distribution of firearm locks or storage devices in the emergency department (ED) may help achieve this target. To inform secure firearm storage programs for households with children and firearms, we examined firearm storage practices, device preferences, and cost tolerance among parents/caregivers of children. Methods: Between April 2018–November 2019, we conducted and analyzed an in-person survey of 294 caregivers, aged ≥18, with both children and firearms in the home. Surveys assessed reasons for firearm ownership, storage practices and device preferences among five storage-device options, and prices participants were willing to pay for devices. Practices and preferences were examined by participant characteristics. We used logistic regression to estimate odds ratios and 95% confidence intervals for associations of interest. Results: Most participants (73%) reported personal protection as a reason for owning firearms, and nearly 80% owned at least one firearm storage device. Over half (55%) owned cable locks, but only 36% of owners reported regularly using them. Rapid-access devices (electronic and biometric lockboxes) were less commonly owned (26%) but more likely to be regularly used (73%). The most highly rated storage device features were the following: the ability to store the firearm unloaded (87.3%); the ability to store the firearm loaded (79.1%); and device affordability (65%). Most participants (78%) preferred rapid-access devices over other options. Participants were willing to pay more for products that afforded rapid access to the firearm. Participants reported they would pay a median of $100 for a pushbutton rapid-access product ($80 retail), and $150 for a biometric lockbox ($210 retail). Conclusion: Understanding the storage practices and preferences among firearm-owning households with children can help inform ED injury-prevention screening and firearm safety practice implementation. Our results suggest that rapid-access devices may be the most preferable firearm storage devices for distribution by secure storage programs, and costs are likely minimal given parental/caregiver willingness to pay.

Abstract Background The National Violent Death Reporting System (NVDRS) collects data on the circumstances of violent deaths, and all firearm-related deaths, across states and territories in the USA. This surveillance system is critical to understanding patterns and risk factors for these fatalities, thereby informing targets for prevention. NVDRS variables include behavioral health conditions among decedents, but the validity of the reported behavioral health data is unknown. Using Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) healthcare records as a criterion standard, we examined the accuracy of NVDRS-reported behavioral health variables for veteran decedents in a sample state (Oregon) between 2003 and 2017. Methods We linked Oregon NVDRS data to VA healthcare data to identify veteran decedents who used VA services within two years of death. Veterans’ VA diagnoses within this time frame, including depression, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), anxiety, and substance use disorders, were compared to behavioral health variables identified in the Oregon NVDRS. Concordance, sensitivity, and correlates of sensitivity were examined over time and by decedent characteristics. Results We identified 791 VA-using veterans with violent and/or firearm-related fatal injuries documented in the Oregon NVDRS between 2003 and 2017. In this cohort, the Oregon NVDRS accurately identified only 49% of decedents who were diagnosed with depression, 45% of those diagnosed with PTSD, and 17% of those diagnosed with anxiety by the VA. Among 211 veterans diagnosed by the VA with a substance use disorder, the Oregon NVDRS coded only 56% as having a substance use problem. In general, the sensitivity of behavioral health variables in the Oregon NVDRS remained the same or decreased over the study period; however, the sensitivity of PTSD diagnoses increased from 21% in 2003–2005 to 54% in 2015–2017. Sensitivity varied by some decedent characteristics, but not consistently across behavioral health variables. Conclusions NVDRS data from one state missed more than half of behavioral health diagnoses among VA-using veterans who died from violence or from firearm injuries. This suggests that reports of behavioral health conditions among decedents nationally may be severely undercounted. Efforts to improve validity of these variables in state NVDRS data are needed.