Vincent C. Merrill, PhD, Kinesiology and Health Science, California State University Fullerton, P.O. Box 6870, Fullerton, CA 92834-6870, 714/278-5649, vmerrill@fullerton.edu and Richard McCleary, PhD, Department of Environmental Analysis and Design, University of California Irvine, School of Social Ecology, Irvine, CA 92697-7070.

Purpose: To understand the risks associated with personal gun ownership and use, and to lay a theoretical foundation for applying the principles of epidemiology to the public health problem of gunshot injuries and death.

Methods: In addition to examining theories of intentional injury death and the development of a natural history model of gun mortality, detailed analyses of the risks associated with personal gun ownership were also conducted. A prospective cohort was created by pooling a sample of firearm related and non-firearm related decedents from the 1993 National Mortality Followback Survey with a sample of living residents from the 1993 National Health Interview Survey. Both surveys include detailed information on firearm possession and other demographic and lifestyle characteristics. Survival analysis was used to estimate the gun-in-home risk for firearm mortality.

Results: During the one-year survey period, there were 2,740 deaths involving firearms. The survival analyses revealed an increased risk for demographic and environmental factors. Cox’s regression was used to control for these characteristics. The analyses indicate that after correcting for demographic, environmental, and behavioral factors, the presence of firearms in the home posses increased risk for gun death, but varies depending on the cause of death (suicide, homicide or accidental) and type of firearm used.

Conclusion: It is evident that each cause of firearm death differs in the set of circumstance surrounding the incident. Tailoring strategies to address components which pose the greatest risk for death provide the best opportunities to prevent firearm mortality.

Learning Objectives:

• To understand the risks associated with personal gun ownership and present a theoretical foundation for applying epidemiological principles to the public health problem of gunshot injury and death.

Keywords: Behavioral Research, Risk Factors

Presenting author's disclosure statement:
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.