Whether and how to store firearms in the home: Qualitative insights from care partner experiences in the Safety in Dementia Trial.

Abstract

Background: Most people with dementia (PWD) in the United States live in community settings supported by family and/or unpaid care partners. Firearms access is one of many decisions care partners navigate alongside PWD in efforts to prevent injuries and deaths. Conversations about firearms access are socially challenging, although specific challenges to be overcome have not been described.

Methods: As part of the larger Safety in Dementia Trial, we interviewed care partners about their views and experiences regarding firearms access in the home where the PWD resides. Interviewees were English-speaking adults (≥18 years) in the United States who are unpaid care partners of community-dwelling PWD. Responses to interview discussions related to (1) a desire for safety, and (2) fear of firearm violence was analyzed using a focusing process to categorize views into essential themes.

Results: Fifty care partners, who were primarily female (58%), White (66%), adult children (56%), and living in the same household (64%), participated in interviews between February 2023-February 2024. Dominant themes emerging from the focusing technique included (1) firearms as a necessary component of home safety; (2) fear of accidental/impulsive firearm violence; (3) observed risk and "near misses"; and (4) differing views on home firearms as a source of conflict. Thematic descriptions did not differ according to care partner's relationship to the PWD (adult child, spouse, other).

Conclusions: Considering whether and how to alter access to firearms where PWD reside can be difficult for care partners to navigate. Care partners expressed a desire to limit firearms access, but worried both about creating conflict with the PWD and the self-defense implications of making firearms inaccessible. Findings were similar across subsets of care partners indicating that standardized tools and messaging to care partners may be effective in promoting safety in homes with PWD.