Learn about firearm injuries
Why agree to agree?
Firearm-related issues sometimes inspire passionate debate, but we can all agree that firearm injuries shouldn’t be the number one cause of death for kids and teens. Young people deserve to grow up without the fear of firearm injuries—and health care professionals can help make that possible by learning how to incorporate firearm injury prevention into their patient care and practice.
If you’ve ever avoided talking about firearm injury prevention with a patient, you’re not alone. Many health care professionals are concerned about making their patients uncomfortable or prefer to prioritize other preventative care topics. But research shows that Americans of all backgrounds and beliefs, including parents, survivors, gun owners, health care professionals, and many others, agree on the importance of preventing firearm injuries.
When people agree to disagree, it ends the conversation. So let’s agree to agree. Together, we can start productive conversations that can save lives.
Video transcript
Download the transcript
SUPER: Dr. Toluwalasé A. Ajayi Pediatrician, Palliative Care Physician & Researcher
DR. AJAYI: In pediatrics, talking about firearms and safe storage – things like that – it's just part of the medicine that we give. It isn’t about judging you or trying to change your lifestyle. It’s about, “How do we partner with you so that your family has the best outcome and everybody is safe and healthy and growing really well?”
At school, are you able to draw an “X”?
SUPER: Firearm injuries are the leading cause of death for children and teens Source: Gun Violence in the U.S. 2022, Johns Hopkins Center for Gun Violence Solutions
DR. AJAYI: Back in the early 2000s, motor vehicle crashes used to be the #1 cause of death in children and teens. And there is this huge advocacy campaign around that
And are you still in a booster seat when you ride…
We did a really good job about decreasing the rate of deaths caused by motor vehicle crashes. We can do the same around firearm injury prevention.
So when I’m talking to new parents, I’ll talk about smoking in the house. I'll talk about water temperature. I’ll ask, “Are there any firearms in the house? When your baby goes home, how do we make sure they are safe?
And I want to make sure that it’s not about me coming in and telling them what to do. Somebody has told me “Yes, I have firearms in my home. It is a safety. I use it to protect my family.” And I will say “Great, I’m also here to protect your family, to make sure that your family stays safe. Can you tell me about where your firearm is located?”
I ask questions – “Oh, can you tell me more about that? How do you store your firearm?” – that way, I can actually provide advice that’s relevant to their lives and their homes. And it makes them feel safe and, again, heard.
No one thinks it’s going to happen to them. No one wants it to happen to them.
It is part of our duty to give this good news so that they can be part of the solution to prevent firearm-related injuries.
SUPER: 84% of parents support healthcare systems playing a role in preventing and reducing gun violence Source: Northwell Health Gun Violence Prevention Issues & Creative Testing, July 2022
DR. AJAYI: Having this guidance is so important and it’s so much easier than giving bad news. It is so much easier than having to do trauma counseling and dealing with the aftermath.
Let’s not put ourselves in a position to have to break bad news. Let’s put ourselves in that position where we can have a conversation with our patients about how they can stay healthy and well.
Let’s agree to agree that we can all make a difference.
SUPER: AgreeToAgree.org/HealthCare
LOGOS: Agree to Agree, American Medical Association, and the Ad Council
Over 48,000 people in the United States are killed by firearm violence annually.
Source: Johns Hopkins Center for Gun Violence Solutions
Firearm violence comes in many forms, and it often involves someone having access to a gun when they shouldn't. Firearms are now the leading cause of death for children and teens, surpassing motor vehicles and traffic accidents, cancer, and other diseases.
In 2022, 2,526 children and teens (ages 1-17) died as a result of a gun injury.
Source: Johns Hopkins Center for Gun Violence Solutions
On average, 8 kids a day are injured or killed as a result of unintentional shootings.
Source: Johns Hopkins Center for Gun Violence Solutions
Between 2013 and 2022, gun suicide deaths among youth ages 10-17 increased 40%.
Source: Johns Hopkins Center for Gun Violence Solutions
66% of gun deaths among children and teens (ages 1-17) were homicides.
Source: Johns Hopkins Center for Gun Violence Solutions
Top causes of death for children ages 1 to 18, as a percentage of all deaths
We agree on more than we think.
People think of firearm violence as a divisive topic, but research shows that we have plenty of common ground. Health care professionals can play an important role in starting conversations with patients using a nonpartisan, research-backed approach.
80% of Americans in households with gun owners agree that practicing secure gun storage would reduce gun violence.
Source: Ad Council Research Institute, Gun Violence Survey, 2024
84% of parents support healthcare systems playing a role in preventing and reducing gun violence.
Source: Northwell Gun Violence Prevention Issues & Creative Testing, July 2022
8 in 10 Americans agree productive conversations can help reduce gun injuries.
Source: Ad Council-Bully Pulpit International Survey, 2024
Youth populations impacted by gun violence
More than half (55%) of all Black youth 15-17 who died in 2022 were killed by a gun. The gun suicide rate among Black youth 15–19 surpassed the rate of their white counterparts for the first time on record.
Source: Johns Hopkins Center for Gun Violence Solutions
The gun homicide rate for Hispanic/Latino youth 1-17 was over 3 times higher than that of their white counterparts.
Source: Johns Hopkins Center for Gun Violence Solutions
Between 2018 and 2022, American Indian/Alaskan Native youth 10-24 died by suicide at a rate twice the national average among this age group.
Source: Giffords Law Center
White youth ages 10-24 years old experience the majority (68%), of those who die by youth firearm suicide.
Source: CDC
Health care professionals can help prevent firearm injuries
- Educate yourself on the role you can play as a health care professional in preventing firearm injuries.
- Have conversations with patients and their families. Many people don't realize that firearms are the leading cause of death among children and teens. Talking about this—and how we can change it—may inspire others to take action.
- Share information about secure firearm storage. Some parents may think that storing a firearm out of sight or out of a child’s reach is enough, but research shows that kids often know where the firearms in their home are hidden. Storing firearms securely is a proven way to limit access and prevent firearm injuries and deaths, including unintentional shootings, firearm suicide, and intentional shootings.
- Counseling on access to lethal means.
- Explore firearm injury prevention efforts and share with other health care professionals.
- Intervene if a person is in crisis. If you see any signs that a patient may be in crisis and intend to harm themselves or others, make sure they don’t have access to a firearm. If they do, take action to remove access to lethal means and help keep them safe.
- Know the laws in your state. They may include Safe Firearm Storage (SFS) laws, which require firearms to be stored securely, Child Access Prevention (CAP) laws, which hold firearm owners accountable for keeping firearms away from children, and Extreme Risk laws, which temporarily limit a person’s access to firearms if they show signs they may harm themselves or others. As a health care professional, you can help patients and their families learn whether Extreme Risk Protection Orders (ERPOs) are available in your state.
Frequently asked questions
Many parents and families are concerned about firearm injuries. You can let them know that they aren’t alone in feeling this way, and that there are things they can do to protect their kids and other young people in the community.
By sharing information about secure firearm storage and how to recognize the signs that someone may be in crisis, you’re empowering others to take action. Having these conversations also helps to normalize them and may motivate others to start conversations of their own.
Work with other health care professionals to encourage routine conversations with patients on firearm injury prevention. Learn more about firearm injury prevention so that you can reduce the risk of firearm injuries in your community. To expand your knowledge, scroll down to explore our collection of resources for health care professionals.
Your actions make a difference
Educating yourself on how to prevent firearm injuries prepares you to have effective conversations on this topic with patients, parents, other health care professionals, and members of your community. Studies show that people whose doctors talk with them about preventing gun violence are more likely to report adopting one or more secure gun-storage practices.
Source: AAP
