{
  "abstract": "Purpose: Firearm access in dementia caregiving households poses safety risks. This study examines household firearm ownership and storage practices among dementia caregivers, identifying factors associated with unsafe firearm storage. Methods: We analyzed pooled data from 2017, 2021, 2022, and 2023 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS). Weighted logistic regression assessed associations between caregiver characteristics and firearm storage behaviors (unloaded vs. loaded, locked vs. unlocked). Results: Dementia caregivers were more likely to live in firearm-owning households than non-caregivers (40.57% vs. 35.12%). Among caregivers in firearm-owning households, 35.8% reported loaded storage, and 50.8% of those also reported unlocked storage. Older caregivers are more likely to report unlocked firearm storage (50–64 years: OR=3.74, 95%CI: 1.75–8.01; 65 + years: OR=5.39, 95%CI: 2.02–14.40; reference: < 50 years). Male caregivers had higher odds of reporting a loaded firearm in the household (OR=1.98, 95% CI: 1.32–2.96). In contrast, longer caregiving duration (>5 years: OR=0.36, 95%CI: 0.16–0.78) and assisting with household tasks (OR=0.27, 95%CI: 0.11–0.63) were associated with safer storage, though this protective effect was only observed among younger caregivers. Conclusion: Household firearm storage patterns among dementia caregivers varied by caregiver age, sex, and caregiving context, highlighting the need for tailored firearm-safety counseling and caregiver-focused public health strategies.",
  "abstract_shown": true,
  "affiliations": [
    "University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, School of Public Health, San Antonio, TX, United States of America."
  ],
  "article_type": "Research Article",
  "arxiv": null,
  "author_total": 2,
  "authors": [
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Jiaming Liang",
      "orcid": "0000-0001-7273-495X"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Alexander Testa"
    }
  ],
  "bibtex": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/bejy9mt4r38m2.bib",
  "cited_by": 0,
  "doi": "10.1371/journal.pone.0360412",
  "fulltext_url": "https://europepmc.org/articles/PMC13716227",
  "id": "bejy9mt4r38m2",
  "issns": [
    "1932-6203"
  ],
  "landing_url": "https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0360412",
  "language": "eng",
  "licence": "CC-BY",
  "licence_label": "CC BY",
  "licence_source": "article",
  "licence_url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/",
  "metadata_licence": null,
  "native_subjects": [
    [
      "heading",
      "Behavioral and Social Aspects of Health"
    ],
    [
      "heading",
      "Caregivers"
    ],
    [
      "heading",
      "Dementia"
    ],
    [
      "heading",
      "Engineering and Technology"
    ],
    [
      "heading",
      "Epidemiology"
    ],
    [
      "heading",
      "Equipment"
    ],
    [
      "heading",
      "Fire Engineering"
    ],
    [
      "heading",
      "Fire Safety"
    ],
    [
      "heading",
      "Firearms"
    ],
    [
      "heading",
      "Health Care"
    ],
    [
      "heading",
      "Medical Risk Factors"
    ],
    [
      "heading",
      "Medicine and Health Sciences"
    ],
    [
      "heading",
      "Mental Health and Psychiatry"
    ],
    [
      "heading",
      "Neurology"
    ],
    [
      "heading",
      "Public and Occupational Health"
    ],
    [
      "heading",
      "Research Article"
    ],
    [
      "heading",
      "Research and Analysis Methods"
    ],
    [
      "heading",
      "Safety"
    ],
    [
      "heading",
      "Socioeconomic Aspects of Health"
    ],
    [
      "heading",
      "Specimen Storage"
    ],
    [
      "heading",
      "Storage and Handling"
    ],
    [
      "heading",
      "Weapons"
    ],
    [
      "openalex",
      "3306|Gun Ownership and Violence Research"
    ],
    [
      "plos",
      "/Engineering and technology/Equipment/Weapons/Firearms"
    ],
    [
      "plos",
      "/Engineering and technology/Fire engineering/Fire safety"
    ],
    [
      "plos",
      "/Medicine and health sciences/Epidemiology/Medical risk factors"
    ],
    [
      "plos",
      "/Medicine and health sciences/Health care/Caregivers"
    ],
    [
      "plos",
      "/Medicine and health sciences/Health care/Socioeconomic aspects of health"
    ],
    [
      "plos",
      "/Medicine and health sciences/Mental health and psychiatry/Dementia"
    ],
    [
      "plos",
      "/Medicine and health sciences/Neurology/Dementia"
    ],
    [
      "plos",
      "/Medicine and health sciences/Public and occupational health/Behavioral and social aspects of health"
    ],
    [
      "plos",
      "/Medicine and health sciences/Public and occupational health/Safety/Fire safety"
    ],
    [
      "plos",
      "/Medicine and health sciences/Public and occupational health/Socioeconomic aspects of health"
    ],
    [
      "plos",
      "/Research and analysis methods/Storage and handling/Specimen storage"
    ]
  ],
  "openalex": "W7224098994",
  "pdf_url": "https://europepmc.org/articles/PMC13716227?pdf=render",
  "pmcid": "PMC13716227",
  "pmid": "42949907",
  "published": "2026-10-28",
  "publisher": "Public Library of Science",
  "ris": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/bejy9mt4r38m2.ris",
  "sources": [
    {
      "first_seen": "2026-10-30T12:17:17Z",
      "native_id": "10.1371/journal.pone.0360412",
      "source": "plos",
      "url": "https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0360412"
    },
    {
      "first_seen": "2026-10-31T00:20:33Z",
      "native_id": "MED:42949907",
      "source": "europepmc",
      "url": "https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42949907"
    },
    {
      "first_seen": "2026-11-01T12:23:16Z",
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      "url": "https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0360412"
    }
  ],
  "subjects": [
    {
      "field": "medicine",
      "origin": "plos:epidemiology",
      "subfield": "epidemiology-public-health"
    },
    {
      "field": "medicine",
      "origin": "heading:Neurology",
      "subfield": "neurology"
    },
    {
      "field": "medicine",
      "origin": "heading:Mental Health and Psychiatry",
      "subfield": "psychiatry"
    }
  ],
  "title": "Unsafe firearm storage among family caregivers of older persons living with dementia",
  "title_text": "Unsafe firearm storage among family caregivers of older persons living with dementia",
  "type": "peer-reviewed",
  "updated_at": "2026-11-01T12:23:16Z",
  "url": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/bejy9mt4r38m2",
  "venue": "PLOS One",
  "versions": []
}