Attitudes of Pharmacy Students Toward Bearing a Gun on Campus

Abstract

In the United States, the number of gun-violence-related injuries and deaths have significantly increased over the last 10-20 years, especially on school campuses. This study assesses the opinion of pharmacy students at Rosalind Franklin University of Medicine and Science regarding bearing a gun on campus. The participants were administered an informed consent along with an anonymous online survey. A total of 153 students participated in the study. While they supported students bearing guns on campus for self-defense, they disagreed with faculty doing so. The majority supported having armed officers on campus and obtaining mental health screenings for gun ownership. The majority across different age groups, race, sex, ideology, and year in pharmacy school believed that the US government was not doing enough to address the gun violence issue. Policymakers, colleges of pharmacy, and various practice settings should have procedures in place to address gun violence more explicitly.