Occupational access to firearms and firearm-related suicides among US workers

Firearm-related suicide is an increasing problem in the US and negatively affects specific worker populations including farmers and police officers. However, less is known which occupational groups have the highest rates of firearm-related suicide in the US and how work-related factors including access to firearms at work and job strain contribute to firearm-related suicide. This study used data from the National Violent Death Reporting System, American Community Survey Public Use Microdata Series, Occupational Information Network, and Rural-Urban Continuum Codes to address these gaps. Major occupational groups with the highest firearm-related suicide rates were protective services (males: 21.7 per 100,000 workers; females: 7.9 per 100,000 workers); construction and extraction (males: 25.9 per 100,000 workers; females: 7.2 per 100,000 workers); installation, maintenance, and repair (males: 23.7 per 100,000 workers; females: 6.2 per 100,000 workers); personal care and service (males: 19.7 per 100,000 workers; females: 3.9 per 100,000 workers); farming, fishing, and forestry (males only: 18.3 per 100,000 workers); and arts, design, entertainment, sports, and media (females only: 4.0 per 100,000 workers). Controlling for age, race/ethnicity, educational level, income, and rurality of residence, workers with access to firearms at work had a higher odds of firearm-related suicide compared to workers without access to firearms at work for male (OR = 2.2; 95% CI, 2.0, 2.5) and female (OR = 3.0; 95% CI, 2.4, 3.8) decedents. The interaction between access to firearms at work and working in a high-strain job (i.e., having high job demands and low job control) led to an increase in odds of firearm-related suicide for male (OR = 2.4, 95% CI: 1.9, 3.0) and female (OR = 4.0, 95% CI: 2.4, 6.5) decedents compared to having no access to firearms at work and working in a low-strain job (i.e., having low job demands and high job control). This study suggests that workers in occupations with access to firearms at work have higher rates of firearm-related suicide and having access to firearms at work and working in a high-strain job increases the odds of firearm-related suicide.