The University of Pennsylvania School of Nursing (Penn Nursing) has been awarded a $3.2 million, 5-year grant from the National Institute of Nursing Research (NINR) to scale out an evidence-based secure firearm storage intervention at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP). Firearms are now the leading cause of death for U.S. children and teens, driving the largest spike in children’s mortality in more than 50 years. The study aims to keep children safer from firearm injury and mortality by promoting secure firearm storage.
The intervention, known as S.A.F.E. Firearm, involves a brief discussion with parents about secure firearm storage and offers free cable locks. While the intervention has been studied in pediatric primary care, this study will adapt it for nurse-led delivery in the pediatric inpatient setting. “Nurse-led implementation of firearm safety interventions during hospital admissions is a major opportunity to advance our shared goal of keeping kids safe,” said principal investigator Katelin Hoskins, PhD, MBE, CRNP, Assistant Professor in Penn Nursing’s Department of Biobehavioral Health Sciences. She added, “Advocating for children is at the core of pediatric nursing practice.”