However, few caregivers have discussed what to do when loved ones are unfit to handle weapons.
“Alzheimer’s and other types of dementia can cause changes in thinking and memory that could make someone insecure to handle a weapon, even if that person has life-long experience,” said lead researcher Dr. Emmy Betz. , an associate professor of emergency medicine at the University of Colorado School of Medicine, in a statement.
According to statistics, up to half of older adults in the United States live in a home with firearms. Among that population, the greatest risk of misuse of firearms is suicide.
And while most caregivers said they would like to discuss gun safety with doctors or other healthcare providers, only 5% said their providers had raised the issue.
“Determining what to do with firearms can be stressful for family members and other caregivers of dementia. Our study shows that few caregivers, including spouses and family members, have received professional advice on how to address gun safety,” he said. Betz.
Keeping loved ones safe
Rowhani-Rahbar, associate professor of epidemiology at the University of Washington School of Public Health, and Morgan, a postdoctoral epidemiologist at the school, point out that discussion and decisions about when to protect firearms is not just the responsibility of doctors. .
“Friends, family and caregivers of people with disabilities [people with dementia] everyone has an obligation to keep their loved ones safe, “they wrote, suggesting that having a conversation early in the course of the illness, while the loved one is more lucid, may be the best strategy.
The study analyzed responses to the 2019 National Firearms Survey of adults age 35 and older who said they were making decisions about medical, financial, housing or other needs for a person with dementia. The online survey, conducted last year between July 30 and August 11, is conducted among a nationally representative sample of American adults living in households with firearms.
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