SHM Converge Scientific Abstract ePoster Gallery-A Novel Approach to Firearm Injury Prevention Education

Pdf Summary

This project describes a new, multi-modal firearm injury prevention curriculum designed for first-year medical students. The need is substantial: firearm injury is a leading cause of death among U.S. youth and a major cause of mortality in younger adults, yet few clinicians receive formal training in safe firearm storage counseling. In 2022, only 27% of U.S. medical schools included firearm-related education.<br /><br />Using Kern’s curriculum development model, the team created and piloted an evidence-informed intervention in April 2025. The curriculum included three parts: a didactic session on firearm injury epidemiology, structural risk factors, and consensus safety counseling recommendations; role-play to practice sensitive conversations about firearm ownership and storage; and a panel discussion with firearm owners and community advocates.<br /><br />The pilot used pre- and post-intervention surveys to assess knowledge and comfort, along with qualitative reflections. There were 103 pre-survey respondents, 37 post-survey respondents, and 32 matched participants. Students already rated firearm injury prevention as highly important, and this did not change after the intervention. However, the curriculum significantly improved knowledge of firearm epidemiology, knowledge of when to discuss firearms with patients, and comfort discussing firearm injury prevention, all with p<0.001.<br /><br />Qualitative feedback suggested the intervention helped shift perspectives by exposing students to firearm culture and by grounding the topic in epidemiologic data. Students also wanted more interactive learning opportunities.<br /><br />Overall, the study concludes that a brief, multi-modal intervention can meaningfully improve medical students’ knowledge and counseling comfort around firearm injury prevention. The authors recommend expanding this content in medical education and studying long-term retention, clinical behavior change, and implementation at other institutions.

Asset Subtitle

Yalda Shahram

Meta Tag

Author List Kewchang Lee, Molly Fyfe, Teja Pattabhiraman, Yalda Shahram

Category Innovations

Concept Firearm Injury

Concept Firearm Safety Counseling

Concept Safe Firearm Storage

Concept Epidemiology

Concept Public Health

Distinguished Non-Finalist

Presenter Organization University of California, San Francisco

Presenting Author Yalda Shahram

Track Education

Keywords

firearm injury prevention

medical student curriculum

firearm safety counseling

medical education

epidemiology

role-play training

multi-modal intervention

safe firearm storage

Kern curriculum model

qualitative feedback

Firearm Injury

Firearm Safety Counseling

Safe Firearm Storage

Epidemiology

Public Health