June 21st marks National Ask Day, a day designated by the non-profit organization Brady: United Against Gun Violence to raise awareness about firearm safety. According to the non-profit, National Ask Day falls on the first day of summer, marking a time when kids typically spend more time at the homes of friends and other family members. It’s meant to remind parents to ask if there is an unlocked gun in the home where their child plays.
Elizabeth Choma, clinical assistant professor of nursing at the George Washington University, is a pediatric nurse practitioner whose work focuses on firearm safety education for families. Specifically, she aims to teach families and the community to utilize the Asking Saves Kids Campaign and educate families about the dangers of unsafely stored firearms. Her latest work published in the Journal of Pediatric Health Care discusses a community educational intervention approach to improve firearm safety behaviors in families.
As a care provider, she says there isn't always enough time in a primary care visit to go over this sort of education with families, which is why it's critically important to meet families where they are: in the community. She speaks with families and runs through the three key questions of the ASK Campaign that parents can ask others when setting up playdates or sleepovers:
1. Do you own firearms?
2. Where is it stored?
3. Is it stored separately from the ammunition?
She can discuss the stigma around adults asking other parents about gun ownership and the importance of making these questions a social norm.
If you would like to speak with Prof. Choma, please contact GW Media Relations at gwmedia
gwu [dot] edu (gwmedia[at]gwu[dot]edu).
-GW-