As a pediatric resident 30 years ago, I was trained in counseling about lethal means and asked all families how they stored their firearms. It’s something that all healthcare professionals should do, and gets easier with practice.
Health care professionals (HCPs) play a critical role in keeping their communities safe and healthy. Today, Dartmouth Health Children’s is proud to amplify new Public Service Advertisements (PSAs) and a clinician focused digital resource hub at AgreeToAgree.org/HealthCare. This is the latest effort from the Ad Council, the American Medical Association (AMA) and a coalition of health care and business leaders as a part of the national youth firearm injury prevention campaign, “Agree to Agree.”
The new work speaks directly to HCPs and provides clinicians with tools and resources to collaboratively and compassionately engage patients in conversations about firearm injury prevention, as firearm injuries continue to be the leading cause of death for children and teens (1–17) in the U.S.
However, due to numerous barriers, this topic remains largely absent from clinical conversations—86% of adults say they have never been asked by a physician whether there are firearms in the home. Yet studies show that when these conversations do occur, patients are more likely to adopt safe storage practices. The new digital resource hub and “Agree to Agree” campaign videos aim to close this gap by equipping clinicians with the tools and confidence to address this issue with their patients.
The digital resource hub is a product of the AMA’s Firearm Injury Prevention task force, which launched in 2023 and includes representation from 14 national medical specialty societies and several liaison organizations. The hub includes content from the AMA, medical associations, health systems, academic institutions, medical journals and non-profit organizations. It allows users to select tools both by clinical specialty and by risk area, as well as the ability to see which content offers continuing education credits.
"As a pediatric resident at Dartmouth Health Children’s 30 years ago, I was trained in counseling about lethal means and asked all families how they stored their firearms,” said Keith J. Loud, MD, Physician-in-Chief of Dartmouth Health Children’s. “It’s something that all healthcare professionals should do and gets easier with practice."
The initial phase of “Agree to Agree,” launched in February 2025 with a coalition of health care and business leaders, laid a critical foundation by encouraging health care professionals to lean into their unique role in helping prevent firearm injuries through supportive conversations with their patients. This new iteration recognizes the importance of equipping HCPs to confidently initiate these essential, often life-saving conversations.
As part of the Ad Council’s broader Firearm Injury Prevention Initiative, “Agree to Agree” works to address the full spectrum of gun violence by building on shared beliefs and common ground. For more information on “Agree to Agree” visit AgreeToAgree.org/HealthCare.
About Dartmouth Health Children's
Dartmouth Health Children's is the only comprehensive pediatric healthcare system in the region. Fully integrated in Dartmouth Health and anchored for more than 30 years by Children's Hospital at Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center (CHaD)—in Lebanon, NH—Dartmouth Health Children's promotes health, advances knowledge, and delivers the best patient and family-centered care for infants, children, and adolescents across New Hampshire and Vermont. Dartmouth Health Children's conducts groundbreaking research and educates the next generations of health professionals as the primary pediatric partner of the Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth. Highly skilled and collaborative child health professionals provide care in multiple settings across the region. Outpatient specialty visits and same-day surgery services are available at Children's Hospital at Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center (CHaD) and Dartmouth Hitchcock Clinics Manchester. Primary care appointments in general pediatrics are available at Dartmouth Hitchcock Clinics in Bedford, Concord, Lebanon, Manchester and Nashua, NH and Bennington, VT; as well as at Dartmouth Health members: Alice Peck Day Memorial Hospital, Cheshire Medical Center, New London Hospital and Mt. Ascutney Hospital and Health Center.