Firearm violence risk score may help tailor, disseminate prevention efforts in emergency departments

A four-item score designed to predict those at risk for future firearm violence may serve as an important tool for emergency department clinicians to tailor interventions to young persons at risk for firearm violence and disseminating those interventions effectively. A new cross-sectional analysis of the association between the risk score and self-reported firearm violence is published in Annals of Internal Medicine.

Researchers from the University of Michigan, University of Pennsylvania, and University of Washington conducted a cross-sectional study of persons aged 18 to 24 years appearing in emergency departments in Flint, Michigan; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; and Seattle, Washington between 2021 and 2023 to estimate the association between the SaFETy score and past 6-month self-reported firearm violence.

The SaFETy score was derived and internally validated in a previous sample of substance-using youth, and is the only clinical screening tool specific to firearm violence. This ten-point score includes four items: fighting; friends’ weapon-carrying; hearing gunshots in one’s neighborhood; and receiving firearm threats. The authors found that persons with higher SaFETy scores showed a higher prevalence for firearm violence within the most recent six months than participants with low scores.

According to the authors, their findings indicate that the score may be important for preventive resource allocation and to ascertain persons with firearm violence history.