Preventing Firearm Suicide Among Navajo Youth Through Community-Guided Care 

Firearm suicide is a growing and preventable public health crisis for American Indian and Alaska Native youth. Nationally, firearms are the leading cause of death among children and adolescents; Native communities—particularly Navajo youth—are disproportionately affected. 

Clinicians play an important role in prevention. Access to unsecured firearms is a modifiable risk factor, yet nearly half of American Indian and Alaska Native families report having firearms in or around the home, and fewer than one-third follow recommended safe storage practices. 

The Center for Indigenous Health, in partnership with the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), is adapting an evidence-based firearm safety intervention to better serve Navajo families in Tuba City, Arizona. This work builds on the SAFE Firearm program (Suicide and Accident Prevention through Family Education Firearm), which has been shown in pediatric primary care settings to increase secure firearm storage through clinician counseling and the provision of firearm locks. 

Because this approach has rarely been studied in Indigenous communities, the project centers community partnership at every stage. Community members based in Tuba City, Arizona (Navajo Nation) will apply their lived experience to guide the adaptation, testing, and sharing of the program, ensuring it is culturally grounded as well as practical. 

With more than 40 years of partnership with the Navajo Nation, the Center for Indigenous Health brings deep experience in youth behavioral health and suicide prevention. Together with the AAP’s expertise in child health and injury prevention, this collaboration aims to reduce firearm-related harm and support the wellbeing of Navajo youth—through interventions shaped by community leadership and evidence.