Firearm businesses as partners in suicide prevention: a cross-sectional study of the Gun Shop Project in Colorado, USA.

BACKGROUND: The Gun Shop Project aims to reduce firearm suicide and is widely implemented in the USA, yet little is known about the core firearm business practices and behaviours that might contribute to preventing firearm suicide. METHODS: Owners or managers of all firearm businesses identified as participants in Colorado's Gun Shop Project were invited to respond to a questionnaire. Data collection occurred from March to May 2021. Analyses included unweighted descriptive statistics with CIs and Pearson χ2 tests for categorical associations. RESULTS: 54 firearm businesses participated (response rate: 28%). Under half reported practices that are Gun Shop Project core aspects (range: 14%-45%). 22% of businesses frequently engaged customers on the importance of safe firearm storage in suicide prevention while 26% had denied a firearm sale and 14% had assisted with temporary secure storage in the past year with customers perceived to be in suicidal crisis. However, high proportions reported willingness to engage in these behaviours if a customer was in crisis: 74% were willing to refuse a sale of a firearm or ammunition, 70% were willing to discuss temporary secure storage options and 70% were willing to direct customers to mental health services. CONCLUSIONS: This study suggests that efforts to continue educating and involving firearm businesses may have an impact on the adoption of organisational suicide prevention practices and behaviours. Ongoing efforts are needed to understand core components of Gun Shop Project to inform standardised recommendations for effective firearm business practices that prevent firearm suicide.

Building an evidence-based multitiered system of supports for high-risk youth and communities.

The mental, emotional and behavioral health problems of high-risk youth and youth living in high-risk communities are not inevitable and can be prevented. A shift from the nation's focus on treating disease and illness after it occurs to a concentrated effort on preventing the root causes of these problems is needed. Prevention science suggests a comprehensive multitiered approach that provides evidence-based prevention supports for children and youth at each developmental stage and across multiple social contexts is likely to result in the greatest health impact and return on investment. However, actually implementing this approach at a neighborhood level has remained a challenge and an ongoing research gap especially in high-risk communities. This article describes a process and provides a case study example for implementing a comprehensive, multitiered approach in a high-risk community. This includes assessing and prioritizing the specific needs of individuals and communities; selecting evidence-based programs based upon assessed needs; and creating a continuum of programs to improve the health and well-being of youth across developmental age spans, social contexts, and levels of risk. Operational details and challenges for organizing and implementing this comprehensive approach are also described. We estimate that the collective impact of a multitiered evidence-based approach, implemented with fidelity, could conservatively result in a 30 to 40% reduction in problem behaviors. (PsycINFO Database Record