Editor’s note: The 2024 AAP National Conference & Exhibition will take place from Sept. 27-Oct. 1 in Orlando, Fla. For more coverage, visit https://bit.ly/AAPNationalConference2024 and follow @AAPNews on LinkedIn, Facebook and X.
With firearm-related suicides rising among children and adolescents, pediatricians can play a key role in prevention efforts by screening and counseling patients.
From 2012-’22, firearm suicide rates jumped 68% among children ages 10-14 years and 45% among adolescents and young adults ages 15-24 years, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
Eric J. Sigel, M.D., FAAP, a member of the AAP Council on Injury, Violence and Poison Prevention and Section on Adolescent Health, will discuss tools that can be used in the clinical setting to identify youths at risk for suicide during the session “Suicide and Firearm Violence: What We Know, What We Can Do” (S3308). The session will be held from 2-3 pm. EDT Sunday, Sept. 29 in room W311E-G of the convention center.
Dr. Sigel, a professor of pediatrics at the University of Colorado School of Medicine, said he became interested in violence prevention work after the 1999 shooting at Columbine High School in Colorado. “I felt like as an adolescent specialist, I didn’t have any resources to help the victims and more importantly the resources to prevent the situation of a school shooting.”
During the session, Dr. Sigel will discuss how to identify whether patients have access to lethal means, such as firearms or medications. If firearms are present in the home, pediatricians can talk about the importance of safe storage.
“We know that the kids who go from making the decision to attempt suicide to the actual attempt, more than half do so within an hour,” he said. “So, if there happens to be access to lethal means, specifically in this context guns, but also medications, that obviously can be a very lethal combination.”
Dr. Sigel will discuss next steps and treatments for patients deemed at-risk.
“(Attendees) will hear about the impact of suicide on adolescents,” Dr. Sigel said. “They will hear about access to firearms and how to assess for suicide risk and what to do in the case of an at-risk kid, the availably of firearms and how do we mitigate those risks.”
If you or someone you know may be considering suicide, call or text the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline at 988 or visit 988lifeline.org. TTY users can use their preferred relay service or dial 711 then 988.
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