- Preventing suicide should not be confined to medical settings. There are numerous community touch-points that can be leveraged to disseminate information about reducing access to lethal means.
- It is essential that education be delivered by messengers that are trusted by at risk communities.
- For example, gun owners are particularly responsive to the counsel of other gun owners.*
- States have the opportunity to produce and disseminate public service announcements about firearm suicide prevention. This can include messaging that is produced by the state as well as promoting the work of community organizations and validated messengers who are more familiar with the needs of the populations they serve.
Sources
*Lines for Life. (2020, June 15). Input from Oregon Gun Owners on Firearm Safety and Suicide Prevention. https://oregonalliancetopreventsuicide.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/Firearm-Safety-Suicide-Prevention-Report-Submitted-6-23-20.pdf
Marino, E., Wolsko, C., Keys S., Wilcox H. (2018). Addressing the Cultural Challenges of Firearm Restriction in Suicide Prevention: A Test of Public Health Messaging to Protect Those at Risk. Archives of Suicide Research, 22:3, 394-404. https://doi.org/10.1080/13811118.2017.1355285
Harley, P. (2022, October 11). According to a GVRC study, service members are more likely to store firearms safely when the message on secure storage is delivered by military law enforcement. | New Jersey Gun Violence Research Center. https://gunviolenceresearchcenter.rutgers.edu/military-law-enforcement-key-to-convincing-service-members-to-safely-store-firearms/
