A new study from University of Iowa researchers offers fresh insight into how rural families believe firearm safety efforts can be made more effective.

Led by corresponding author Victor Soupene, a postdoctoral fellow in the Department of Occupational and Environmental Health at the University of Iowa College of Public Health and the Department of Emergency Medicine at the University of Iowa Carver College of Medicine, the research highlights the importance of tailoring safety messages to the realities, values, and trusted voices of rural communities.

The study comes at a time when rural areas continue to experience disproportionately high rates of firearm suicides and unintentional injuries. While safe storage is known to reduce these risks, many rural households, especially farm families, are less likely to store firearms locked and unloaded. Soupene and his team set out to understand what kinds of messages, messengers, and program formats rural parents would most trust and use.

Participants emphasized that who delivers the message matters just as much as the message itself. Local law enforcement officers and Department of Natural Resources personnel were viewed as the most credible voices, while clinicians and educators were met with more skepticism. Parents also expressed a preference for practical demonstrations, relatable stories, and age‑appropriate delivery methods, rather than statistics alone.

The findings suggest that effective firearm safety programming in rural areas must be community‑driven, culturally aware, and delivered by trusted local figures. Soupene notes that partnering with familiar organizations—such as local law enforcement, FFA (formerly Future Farmers of America), and 4‑H—may help expand the reach and acceptance of safe storage practices.

Co-authors of the study include Charles Jennissen, Pam Hoogerwerf, Cassidy Branch, and Marc Doobay from the University of Iowa and Nicholas Stange from Louisiana State University.