LOS ANGELES – It’s something on many providers’ minds these days: how to talk to patients and families about household guns when safety is a concern. Some U.S. doctors have gotten into trouble for even broaching the subject.
It’s key to keep the conversation about safety and not to let it veer into Second Amendment issues, said Elaine Frank, founder and program director of the Counseling on Access to Lethal Means (CALM) project at Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center, Lebanon, N.H. She and her colleagues train providers about how to handle the topic.
An independent study presented at the American Association of Suicidology annual meeting found that clinicians are more likely to discuss guns with patients after the training, and more confident about doing so. Ms. Frank was on hand to hear the results, and she took a few moments to share her tips and insights.