Experts have developed a clinical guide to help providers recognize a patient’s risk of firearm injury or death, talk with patients about firearm safety and intervene in emergency situations.

Physicians and researchers at the UC Davis Violence Prevention Research Program (VPRP), Brown University, the University of Colorado and Stanford University are looking to change that. They’ve developed a clinical guide to help providers get more comfortable recognizing a patient’s risk of firearm injury or death. It also helps them talk with patients about firearm safety and teaches them how to intervene in emergency situations.

Their guide, published June 4 in the Annals of Internal Medicine‘s «In the Clinic» series, is based on existing research and on expert opinion.

«Clinicians are uniquely positioned to identify at-risk patients and discuss safe firearm practices, and patients are overwhelmingly open to having these conversations, especially when they happen directly in the context of the patient’s health or the health of someone else in the home,» said Rocco Pallin, first author and director of VPRP’s What You Can Do initiative.

«This article presents background and practical tools to help clinicians recognize risk and start having these conversations when they feel firearms are clinically relevant,» she said.

The guide shares findings from existing studies on firearm-related harm and violence prevention. It recommends strategies for screening, counseling and potential interventions when needed. It also provides a toolkit with information for patients and clinicians on firearm injury and firearm safety.

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Materials provided by University of California — Davis Health. Note: Content may be edited for style and length.