Comfort With Talking to Healthcare and Community Professionals About Firearm Safety: Insights for Suicide Prevention From a Sample of Black Adults.

Abstract

Our primary objective was to gather feedback from Black adults with access to firearms in their homes on their comfort with talking to healthcare professionals about firearm safety. We also explored participants' comfort with discussing firearm safety with community professionals, recognizing that limited comfort in clinical settings may influence where such conversations are perceived to be acceptable. These insights were intended to help inform efforts to promote safe firearm storage and suicide prevention among Black adults in the U.S. This study involved semi-structured interviews and rapid qualitative analysis. The study sample included 15 Black adults ages 18 years and older in the U.S. who had access to firearms in their homes. We developed a Transcript Summary Template to deductively condense all relevant information for 2 topics. Matrix analysis techniques were used to identify emerging key concepts in the responses to each topic. Participant comfort with discussing firearm safety with healthcare professionals was shaped by several factors: longstanding trust with clinicians (typically primary care providers), legal firearm ownership, and transparency about the rationale for asking firearm-related questions. Discomfort was driven by fears of punitive consequences, historical mistrust of healthcare and other institutions in Black communities, and stigma surrounding mental health. Participants described substantial comfort with discussing firearm safety in familiar community spaces, as well as with trusted individuals who share cultural experiences and faith leaders. Our findings suggest a need for trust-building and clear communication about the intent of firearm-related questions and how that information will be used in clinical settings, alongside community-based strategies that leverage trusted relationships and familiar spaces (eg, faith organizations), as potential pathways to improving safe firearm storage among Black adults.