Table 3 Included Records (n = 38)
From: Firearm locking device preferences among firearm owners in the USA: a systematic review
Citation | Study aim(s) | Sample size | Participants | Setting | Methods* | Type(s) of devices** | Devices provided |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Aitken et al. (2020) | Better understand parental knowledge, attitudes, beliefs, and firearm storage practices that will support interventions to lower unsupervised child access to firearms | 57 | Own any type of firearm; children < 18 years in the home | Alabama, Arkansas, Tennessee | BOTH: Focus groups; in-person survey | Gun safe, trigger lock | Yes, trigger locks |
Anestis et al. (2021a) | Determine differences in preferred messengers on the topic of safe firearm storage and suicide prevention between firearm owners and non-firearm owners, and among firearm owners of different racial groups and sexes. | 6200 total 2311 firearm(s) in or around the home | \(\ge\)18 years | U.S. | QUANT: Web-based Survey | Trigger lock, cable lock, gun safe, gun cabinet, lock box | No |
Anestis et al. (2021b) | Assess frequency of suicidal ideation among individuals who purchased firearms during the surge period, other firearm owners, and non–firearm owners | 6404 1546 current firearm owner | \(\ge\)18 years | Mississippi, Minnesota, and New Jersey | QUANT: Web-based survey | Gun safe, cable lock, trigger lock | No |
Anestis et al. (2021c) | Determine the extent to which COVID-19 firearm purchasers differ in terms of suicide risk from non-firearm owners and firearm owners who did not make a purchase during COVID-19 | 3500 1164 firearm owner | \(\ge\)18 years | Web-based U.S. | QUANT: Web-based survey | Gun safe, gun cabinet | No |
Anestis and Houtsma (2019) | Understand factors that differentiate firearm owners’ beliefs and behaviors that are relevant to suicide risk by examining differences between individuals for whom firearm ownership represents a central aspect of identity (i.e., primary firearm owners) versus firearm owners who primarily identify with some other demographic or occupational characteristic. | 375 | Firearm owner | U.S. | QUANT: Web-based survey | Gun safe; trigger lock, cable lock | No |
Barber et al. (2022) | Describe safety standards for locking devices and compare parental acceptance rates for different types of devices | 226 85 firearm(s) in the home | Parent of child (10–17 years) at emergency department (ED) for a suicide-related or behavioral health-related problem | Emergency departments in Colorado | QUANT: Phone and web-based survey | Cable lock, lock box | Yes, cable lock or lock box |
Barton and Kologi (2015) | Expand knowledge of factors surrounding firearm storage practices including individual storage practices, personal experience with firearms, and views on firearms ownership | 30 24 firearm owner or in home | \(\ge\)18 years | Small town in Pacific Northwest | BOTH: Interview; in-person survey | Trigger lock, gun safe, lock box, gun cabinet, “gun lock” unspecified | No |
Carbone et al. (2005) | Evaluate the effectiveness of gun-safety counseling, a gun-safety brochure, and a free gun lock in subsequent gun removal and safe storage | 151 | Parent of patient < 18 years; gun owner | Pediatric clinic within community health center in Tucson, AZ | QUANT: Phone survey | Lock box, “gun lock” unspecified | Yes, cable lock |
Coyne-Beasley et al. (2005) | Examine the level of agreement on household firearms and storage practices among cohabiting partners | 76 partner-pair respondents | Previously received hospital-based intervention; \(\ge\)18 years; with child for care; children < 18 years in home; speak English | North Carolina | QUANT: Phone survey | Trigger lock, lock box, gun safe, gun cabinet; “gun lock” unspecified | No |
Coyne-Beasley et al. (2001b) | Determine if a firearm safety counseling and gun lock distribution program improved storage practices | 112 | Event participant | Community-based firearm safety event in urban county in North Carolina | BOTH: In-person survey; interview | Lock box, gun safe, gun cabinet, “gun lock” unspecified | Yes, cable locks and raffled gun safe |
Coyne-Beasley et al. (2001a) | Examine law enforcement officers’ willingness to use gun locks on their own guns, as well as their opinions regarding gun locks in general | 75 | Agency officer with service weapon | Law enforcement agency in Southern region of the U.S. | QUANT: survey | Cable lock | Yes, cable locks |
Crifasi et al. (2019) | Estimate the desirability of personalized guns among a nationally representative sample of current gun owners | 1444 | Gun owner | U.S. | QUANT: Web-based survey | Biometric | No |
Crifasi et al. (2018) | Examine gun storage practices and factors influencing those practices among gun owners | 1444 | Gun owner; \(\ge\)18 years | U.S. | QUANT: Web-based survey | Gun safe, gun cabinet, lock box, trigger lock | No |
Dennis et al. (2019) | Conduct assessment for the Portland-metro area regarding preferences for gun storage devices | 147 | Current/soon-to-be caregiver of child; current or future gun owner | Community events and hospital lobby in Portland, OR | QUANT: In-person surveys | Cable lock, life jacket, lock box, gun safe, biometric | No |
DeMello et al. (2020) | Assess parent acceptance of firearms education delivered by clinical providers, determine whether parents engage in firearms safety dialog with their children, and evaluate reasons for ownership and storage behaviors | 115 47 reported owning firearms | Parent and/or guardian of patient | Pediatric inpatient surgery center in Houston, Texas | QUANT: In-person survey | Trigger lock, cable lock, lock box, gun safe | No |
Denno et al. (1996) | Ascertain the specific suggestions that local police departments in the USA give to parents who ask for advice about methods to safely store handguns | 93 law enforcement agencies | Police department in city with population \(\ge\)10k | U.S. cities | QUANT: Phone survey | Lock box, trigger lock | No |
Furman et al. (2020) | Evaluate the impact of a mobile safety center on pediatric home safety knowledge and device use | 50 11 reporting firearm(s) in the home at baseline | \(\ge\)18 years; parent or guardian of children < 18 years in home | Community-based events in Pennsylvania | QUANT: In-person survey | Gun safe, “gun lock” (unspecified) | Yes, “gun lock” |
Grossman et al. (2012) | Determine if the installation of gun cabinets improved household firearm storage practices | 255 households | \(\ge 21\) years; principal owner or renter of dwelling; 1 + gun usually present in home; do not possess operational gun safe | Households in 6 rural villages in Bristol Bay and Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta regions of western Alaska | QUANT: In-person survey | Gun safe, gun cabinet, cable lock, trigger lock | Yes, gun cabinets |
Grossman et al. (2000) | Determine the effectiveness of gun safety counseling during well-child care visits | 1292 households 309 reporting owning firearms at baseline | Scheduled visit for a child 2 months to 18 years | Primary care clinics in Washington state | QUANT: In-person survey | Trigger lock, lock box | Coupons for obtaining a trigger lock and a lock box at a discount |
Horn et al. (2003) | Develop and evaluate a pilot program to reduce unauthorized access to firearms by youth by distributing gun safes and trigger locks to households | 40 households | Village resident; \(\ge\)18 years; homeowner or primary renter; owner of 2 + long guns; no gun safe | Households in two villages in Southwest Alaska | QUANT: In-person survey | Gun safe, trigger lock | Yes, gun safes and trigger locks |
King et al. (2020) | Describe characteristics of community-based firearm safety event participants and assess whether presence and age of children in the household were associated with household firearm locking practices | 2956 2480 reported firearm(s) in the home | \(\ge\)18 years; speak English or Spanish | Community-based firearm safety events in Washington state | QUANT: In-person survey | Gun safe; lock box; cable lock; trigger lock | Yes, lock box or trigger lock |
Kuhls et al. (2017) | Evaluate Committee on Trauma member attitudes about firearm ownership, freedom, responsibility, physician-patient freedom and policy | 237 101 reported firearm(s) in the home | U.S. American College of Surgeons Committee on Trauma members | U.S. | QUANT: Web-based survey | Gun safe, trigger lock | No |
Lam (2019) | Determine receptiveness and responsiveness in promoting lock box and trigger lock giveaway events on social media and describe characteristics of participants who find out about the event through social media | 414 social media comments; 4509 survey participants | Interaction with event pages (content analysis); event participants receiving a trigger lock or lock box (survey) | Community-based firearm safety events in Washington state | BOTH: Social media content analysis; in-person survey | Gun safe, gun lock, trigger lock, cable lock | Yes, trigger lock or lock box |
Monteith et al. (2020) | Explore female veterans’ firearm-related experiences and perspectives | 16 14 reported currently owning firearms | Female veteran; 20–70 years; reported current/previous gun owner or lives in home with gun(s); eligible to receive Veterans Health Administration care in the Mountain West; no severe psychiatric symptoms or cognitive impairment | VA Medical Center in Mountain West | QUAL: Interview | Gun safe; lock box | No |
Ramchand et al. (2018) | Explore the degree of past exposure to violence among recent suicide cases, characteristics of ownership and storage practices among those who used a firearm to take their lives, and insight from those with access to firearms who chose to end their lives another way | 17 | Next of kin of suicide cases | New Orleans, LA | QUAL: In-person or phone Interviews | Lock box, trigger lock | No |
Roberto et al. (2002) | Assess the effectiveness of a radio-based health communication intervention promoting trigger lock use | 237 | \(\ge\)18 years; called to receive a trigger lock in response to hearing radio PSA | Michigan | QUANT: Mail-based survey | Trigger lock | Yes, trigger locks |
Schenck et al. (2022) | Characterize parental attitudes and beliefs related to firearm storage and identify facilitators and barriers to safer storage practices | 20 | Parents/guardian of a child < 18 years; live in home with firearm(s) | Pediatric clinics and ED in New Haven County Connecticut | BOTH: In-person or telephone interview and survey | Lock box | Yes, cable lock |
Schuster et al. (2000) | Determine the prevalence and storage patterns of firearms in US homes with children | 6990 | Reported children in the household < 18 years | U.S. | QUANT: In-person survey | Trigger lock | No |
Sidman et al. (2005) | Examine a multifaceted community education campaign to promote safe handgun storage and the campaign’s impact on firearm locking and loading practices in households with children | 151 households | Speak English; 1 + child < 18 years in home; telephone in the home; 1 + pistol, revolver, or other handgun kept in/around home | Western region of the U.S. | QUANT: Phone survey | Trigger lock, gun safe, lock box | Yes, coupons for lock boxes |
Simonetti (2018b) | Conduct a preliminary evaluation of a community-based firearm safety intervention and assess participants’ preferences for firearm locking devices and their comfort with potential firearm safety counselors | 206 191 firearm(s) present in the home | \(\ge\)18 years; speak English or Spanish | Community-based firearm safety events in King and Pierce counties, Washington State | QUANT: In-person survey | Cable lock, trigger lock, lock box, gun safe | Yes, lock box or trigger lock |
Simonetti (2018a) | Describe firearm storage practices and correlates of those practices among a nationally-representative sample of U.S. Veteran firearm owners | 561 | Veteran; report personally owning gun in working order | U.S. | QUANT: Web-based survey | Trigger lock, cable lock, gun safe, lock box | No |
Simonetti et al. (2019) | Describe preferences for firearm locking devices and device features among firearm safety event participants | 401 | \(\ge\)18 years; speak English or Spanish | Community-based firearm safety events in Washington state | QUANT: In-person survey | Trigger lock, cable lock, Life Jacket, lock box, gun safe | Yes, lock box or trigger lock |
Sullivant et al. (2022) | Test whether a brief community-based presentation that includes an emphasis on safe storage, paired with the tools needed to enact safe storage of firearms and medications, can lead to adoption of safe storage practices | 581 220 firearm(s) present in home | English-speaking adult; raising children at least half of the time | Midwest Region | QUANT: Web-based survey | Cable lock | Yes, cable lock |
Uspal et al. (2021) | Determine if providing firearm storage devices with training during clinical care improves safe storage practices in household members of children who present to a pediatric hospital with an emergent mental health complaint | 164 | Proficient in English; store 1 + gun in home shared with patient < 18 years | Emergency department or inpatient psychiatric unit within a pediatric hospital in Washington state | QUANT: In-person, phone, and e-mail surveys | Trigger lock, lock box | Yes, lock box or trigger lock |
Walters et al. (2012) | Examine Veteran, family member, clinician and VA leaders’ perceptions and ideas regarding gun accessibility and safety among VA patients | 60 | Mental health diagnosis; active VA mental health care; current/ previous access to guns in the prior 5 years | VA Medical Center in Midwest | QUAL: Interviews; focus groups | Trigger lock, lock box | No |
Wargo et al. (2013) | Change gun safety behavior through safer storage of firearms in the home | 58 | Head Start family; children aged\(\le 6\) | Head Start intake meetings in central Pennsylvania | QUANT: In-person and phone surveys | Gun cabinet | Yes, “gun lock” |
Webb (2022) | Survey families in ED about safety behaviors before and after provision of free safety devices related to drowning, poisoning, and firearms | 357 161 firearm(s) present in home | Care-giver with relation to patient present in the ED; English-speaking | Large, urban ED in Alabama | QUANT: In-person and phone surveys | “Trigger lock (cable gun lock with key)” | Yes, “trigger lock (cable gun lock with key)” |
Wexler et al. (2022) | Describe and understand people’s associations with and actions related to firearms, safety, and storage in rural Alaska Native communities | 33 | Alaska Native adult from community | Communities in rural Alaska | QUAL: In-person focus groups | Gun safe, trigger lock | No |