Safer Storage Safer Homes An Inpatient Pediatric Lethal Means Counseling Pilot Trial

Firearm injuries are the leading cause of death for American youth. Strikingly, firearm suicide among adolescents is growing faster than other groups. Lethal means counseling is standard of care, however, infrequently occurs despite pediatricians recognizing the importance. Lack of time, topic discomfort, and inadequate resources for families are commonly reported barriers to counseling. By addressing these factors, we can improve counseling with the ultimate goal of increasing safe storage and reducing firearm injuries in youth. Children admitted in acute mental health crises while awaiting psychiatric hospital placement are a population at greater risk of suicide. We plan to implement a pilot intervention to offer secure storage counseling and storage device distribution to families of behavioral health patients who indicate firearm ownership on initial screening. The goal of this project is to evaluate the feasibility and acceptability of firearm secure storage counseling and device provision in the inpatient setting.

Inclusion Criteria: 1. Guardian of child ages 0-18 years old who is admitted to and receiving care on the MCJCHV Behavioral Health Team 2. Guardian age \> or = 18 years 3. Guardian with phone access to receive calls or email access to receive study information electronically 4. English or Spanish-speaking guardian 5. Guardian self-identifies as firearm owner Exclusion Criteria: 1. Guardian of children outside the specified age range 2. Guardian speaks a language that is not English or Spanish 3. Lack of telephone or email contact 4. Guardian age is outside of the specific age range 5. Guardians/children who do not otherwise meet the eligibility criteria listed in section above as determined by pre-screen 6. Guardian or child in distress at time of enrollment