Equipping School Nurses to Address Firearm Safety: A Pilot Curriculum Study.

Area of Science:

• Public Health
• Child Safety
• Nursing Education

Background:

• Firearm violence is a leading cause of death for children and adolescents in the US.
• School nurses are vital in firearm violence prevention efforts.
• Existing training for school nurses lacks role-specific firearm safety content.

Purpose of the Study:

• To adapt and pilot a hospital-based firearm safety curriculum for school nurses.
• To assess the feasibility, acceptability, and efficacy of the adapted training program.

Main Methods:

• Adapted a hospital-based curriculum including didactic sessions and patient simulations.
• Conducted a pilot study at a single academic medical center.
• Collected qualitative survey data and used a pretest-posttest design to assess outcomes.

Main Results:

• 30 school nurses participated; 43.3% had prior firearm safety training.
• Post-training, nurses showed increased confidence in counseling on firearm safety, including Extreme Risk Protection Orders and the 5 Ls.
• Perceptions of screening importance improved, and concerns about student interactions decreased.

Conclusions:

• The pilot training successfully enhanced school nurses' confidence and perceptions regarding firearm safety counseling.
• The program demonstrates potential for broader implementation to improve school safety.