O1029: Store it Safe: Quality Improvement, Community Engagement and Advocacy to Prevent Accidental Firearm Injuries/Death in Children and Suicide by Firearms in Adolescents

Background: In 2020 firearms became the leading cause of death in US children and adolescents, surpassing motor vehicle collisions for the first time. There are many factors contributing to the increase in firearm deaths, thus solutions need to be innovative and varied.
In 2015 the Ohio AAP developed Store It Safe (SIS), a unique program developed with assistance of firearm organizations, to reduce accidental firearm injury/death in young children and suicide by firearm in adolescents. Additionally, with the legalization of marijuana in Ohio, SIS is also being used to prevent accidental ingestions by promoting safe storage of marijuana products.

Methods: QI: QI program to train healthcare providers to screen for depression and suicide, discuss lethal means, distribute safe storage lock boxes, and provide resources for families. Provider training includes virtual reality simulation to help providers get more comfortable talking about safe firearm storage during well child visits. Resources were developed collaboratively with coalition partners and multiple focus groups.
Coalition Building/Community Engagement: The Ohio AAP has been intentional in coalition building, forming a unique partnership of organizations with varying viewpoints on firearms - healthcare providers, firearm safety experts, law enforcement, education leaders, and community organizations to have unified messaging of “Store It Safe”. The SIS City Designation serves as a way to engage communities across the state to educate families and youth facing organizations about the restriction of access to lethal means.
Advocacy: Establishing common ground and strong relationships are key to advocacy successes. Setting clear boundaries as to what is and is not the goal of this specific coalition has allowed a diverse group of organizations to come together around a unified goal.

Results: QI: To date, approximately 130,000 Ohioans have already been reached by the SIS program, 14,000 adolescents have been screened for depression and suicide during healthcare visits and over 3,500 lock boxes have been distributed.

Coalition Building/Community Engagement: The SIS Coalition has reached over 52 members, each supporting and spreading the SIS. We just piloted our first Store It Safe City Designation and two additional cities are exploring this opportunity. SIS is currently spreading to Indiana AAP.
Advocacy: SIS has bipartisan support, with a current amendment in the Ohio budget to make SIS the official safe storage program for the state, with a $1 million dollar earmark to support the spread of SIS.

Conclusion: Healthcare providers can engage in firearm-related injury prevention efforts in many ways. SIS is a well-established program that can be replicated in its entirety or various parts to help providers, their patients and communities keep firearms and marijuana products stored safely.