November 7th, 2019
Podcast 241: Talking about guns with patients
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Running time: 18 minutes
In California, Garen Wintemute and his group find evidence that people are willing to discuss gun safety with their clinicians, especially when there may be danger of harm present. That willingness extends across gun owners and non-owners. So why aren’t more clinicians doing it?
The findings appear in Health Affairs.
Links to the article & further resources:
Wintemute’s essay in Annals of Internal Medicine on gun violence
Another Annals article on preventing gun-related death and injury
One Response to “Podcast 241: Talking about guns with patients”
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Excellent interview, should be shared with all relevant clinicians. One major reason patients have a hard time discussing firearms with physicians is that they perceive that their physicians have an aversion to the concept of private firearm ownership and, generally, towards people who own firearms. They don’t see the physicians as being “on their side” and trying to help them. Rest assured that if the patient knows that his/her doctor respects gun ownership, the conversations becomes much easier. When the physician demonstrates knowledge about firearms (the way the interviewee has), this puts the patient at ease that you are truly there to help them. Sensitivity and sincere respect towards this portion of American culture is key.