Where Are the Questions About Firearms?: An Analysis of US Federal Public Health Survey Data Infrastructure.

Objective: To evaluate existing federal survey data infrastructure pertaining to firearms and firearm-related violence.

Background: Firearm-related violence results in >40,000 deaths in the United States each year. Limited federal investments over the past 25 years have restricted a systematic approach to federal data collection related to firearms.

Methods: We conducted a systematized review of the 22 continuously administered public health surveys in the US Federal Statistical System conducted between 1995 and 2020. Surveys were included if they addressed 1 of 4 areas of inquiry: (1) firearms; (2) exposure to or experience of firearm-related, intimate partner, or other interpersonal violence; (3) substance use and substance use disorder; (4) behavioral health. Descriptive statistics were used to report the frequency of relevant questions.

Results: Nine of 22 surveys were focused on one of these domains and included in this analysis, 7 focused on adults (total 128 survey administrations over the study period) and 2 on youth and adolescents (total 30 administrations). Among all adult surveys, questions related to firearm use were asked 20% of the time, firearm-related violence 4%, firearm ownership 23%; in youth surveys, firearm use was addressed 0 times, firearm-related violence 57%, and firearm ownership 90%.

Conclusions: Reliable national data are critical to understanding firearm-related violence as well as to developing, implementing, and evaluating public health measures to address it. Improving the consistency of questions pertaining to firearm access and experiences of violence in federal surveys offers an opportunity to improve national data infrastructure.