Penn Nursing awarded $3.2 million grant to expand firearm intervention program at CHOP

Penn's School of Nursing received a $3.2 million grant to improve firearm safety from the National Institute of Nursing Research.

The five-year grant will support a study on secure firearm storage intervention at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, aiming to protect children from firearms and promote “secure firearm storage." Firearms are the leading cause of death for childrens and teens in the United States, according to the Penn Nursing announcement on Oct. 24.  

The intervention program, called S.A.F.E. Firearm, is a pilot study that was first published in 2023. It currently provides parents with secure storage for their firearms, as well as offers them free cable locks. The program hopes to adapt a preexisting preventive strategy to a pediatric inpatient setting, with the delivery led by nurses.

“Nurse-led implementation of firearm safety interventions during hospital admissions is a major opportunity to advance our shared goal of keeping kids safe,” the study’s principal investigator, Katelin Hostkins, said in the announcement. 

With this grant, Penn Nursing hopes to expand the study to children’s hospitals. The study will collaborate with both parent and clinician partners to design the implementation approach for the intervention adaptation. The implementation’s effectiveness will be measured from the perspective of nurses, as well as from randomized groups in units at CHOP and King of Prussia.

“Children’s hospitals are uniquely positioned to play a role in promoting firearm safety,” co-director of CHOP’s Center for Violence Protection Joel Fein said. “Through the trusted relationship between nurses and our patients’ families, we hope to make a positive impact on their safety and wellbeing.”

According to study co-investigator Dorothy Novick, the goal of the expansion of the study is to strengthen relationships between families and nurses and contribute to their safety and wellbeing. 

“This study has the potential to make a significant contribution to the field of firearm injury prevention and public health,” Novick said. “Our goal is for safe firearm storage to be as natural as other preventive measures such as childproofing homes and buckling seat belts.”