Laura Prater, PhD

Dr. Prater holds a doctorate in public health from the Ohio State University, with a focus in health services research, pragmatic intervention development and policy evaluation. Her work focuses on understanding the circumstances around firearm suicide among vulnerable populations and developing health systems interventions for suicide prevention through firearm safety. Using a public health lens, she works on tailoring interventions to meet the unique needs of vulnerable populations (e.g. dementia, terminal illness) at increased risk for suicidal thoughts and behaviors. She is currently funded by the National Institutes on Aging and the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention to produce clinical decision-making tools to help persons with early dementia, their care partners, and primary clinicians, to make safer plans for firearm storage.

Other Affiliations

Associate Director, Firearm Injury & Policy Research Program, University of Washington School of Medicine

Recent Publications

Pregnancy-Associated Firearm Mortality in the U.S., 2008-2019.
(2024 Mar 6)
Am J Prev Med
Joseph NT, Prater LC, Modest AM

Integration of extreme risk protection orders into the clinical workflow: Qualitative comparison of clinician perspectives.
(2023)
PLoS One 18(12): e0288880
Conrick KM, Porter SF, Gause E, Prater L, Rowhani-Rahbar A, Rivara FP, Moore M

Identifying Rare Circumstances Preceding Female Firearm Suicides: Validating A Large Language Model Approach.
(2023 Oct 17)
JMIR Ment Health 10(): e49359
Zhou W, Prater LC, Goldstein EV, Mooney SJ

Provider Perspectives on Addressing Firearm Safety with Older Adults in Primary Care.
(2023 Oct 4)
Clin Gerontol
Ross R, Prater LC, Cole A, Mustafa A, Pham K, Suchsland MZ, Gallagher A, Rowhani-Rahbar A, Phelan EA

Emergency Department and Inpatient Utilization Reductions and Cost Savings Associated With Trauma Center Mental Health Intervention: Results From a 5-year Longitudinal Randomized Clinical Trial Analysis.
(2024 Jan 1)
Ann Surg 279(1): 17-23
Prater L, Bulger E, Maier RV, Goldstein E, Thomas P, Russo J, Wang J, Engstrom A, Abu K, Whiteside L, Knutzen T, Iles-Shih M, Heagerty P, Zatzick D

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