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Jeffrey W. Swanson

Professor in Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences
Psychiatry, Child & Family Mental Health & Community Psychiatry
Box 102505 Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC 27705
Physical Address: 2400 Pratt Street, Room 6035, Postal Address: Box 102505 DUMC, Durham, NC 27705

Overview


Jeffrey Swanson is Professor in Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at Duke University School of Medicine. He is a faculty affiliate of the Wilson Center for Science and Justice at Duke Law School, the Center for Firearms Law at Duke Law School, and the Center for Child and Family Policy at Duke Sanford School of Public Policy. Swanson holds a PhD in sociology from Yale University. He is a social scientist researcher who collaborates across disciplines to build evidence for interventions, policies and laws to improve outcomes for adults with serious mental illnesses in the community, and to reduce firearm-related violence and suicide. He is an author of over 250 publications on subjects including the social environmental context of violence in mental illness, implementation of state firearm restrictions related to mental health adjudications, effectiveness of involuntary outpatient commitment, and psychiatric advance directives. Swanson led the research group that published the first empirical evaluations of risk-based, temporary firearm removal laws in Indiana and Connecticut, precursors to Extreme Risk Protection Order laws that were later adopted in many states. He received the 2020 Isaac Ray Award from the American Psychiatric Association and the American Academy of Psychiatry and Law for outstanding contributions to the psychiatric aspects of jurisprudence. He received the 2011 Carl Taube Award from the American Public Health Association for outstanding contributions to mental health services research. Swanson serves on the Executive Steering Committee of the Consortium for Risk-Based Firearm Policy. He previously served as a member of the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation Research Network on Mandated Community Treatment and the Methods Core of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Public Health Law Research Program. He has delivered numerous endowed lectures including the P. Browning Hoffman Memorial Lecture in Law and Psychiatry at the University of Virginia School of Law and the Raymond W. Waggoner Lecture on Ethics and Values in Medicine at the University of Michigan.  Swanson frequently comments on gun violence in the national media and serves as a consultant to policymakers at the federal and state levels.

Current Appointments & Affiliations


Professor in Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences · 2021 - Present Psychiatry, Child & Family Mental Health & Community Psychiatry, Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences
Affiliate of the Center for Child and Family Policy · 2015 - Present Center for Child and Family Policy, Sanford School of Public Policy

In the News


Published August 22, 2024
Red Flag Laws Removing Firearms Save Lives
Published January 26, 2023
Duke Study Finds Promising Results in Pre-Arrest Diversion Program for People Who Use Drugs
Published June 9, 2022
Medical Sociologist Jeffrey Swanson on Reducing Gun Violence and Suicide

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Recent Publications


Clinical and Social Functioning Outcomes of Assisted Outpatient Treatment: Results From a Multisite Evaluation

Journal Article Psychiatric Research and Clinical Practice · January 1, 2025 Objective: This study used data from a multi-site evaluation of six assisted outpatient treatment (AOT) programs to assess the effectiveness of AOT on treatment adherence, clinical functioning, and social functioning outcomes. Methods: Sites provided prima ... Full text Cite

Suicide Prevention Effects of Extreme Risk Protection Order Laws in Four States.

Journal Article The journal of the American Academy of Psychiatry and the Law · September 2024 More than half of suicide deaths in the United States result from self-inflicted firearm injuries. Extreme risk protection order (ERPO) laws in 21 states and the District of Columbia temporarily limit access to firearms for individuals found in a civil cou ... Full text Cite

A multi-state evaluation of extreme risk protection orders: a research protocol.

Journal Article Injury epidemiology · September 2024 BackgroundExtreme Risk Protection Orders (ERPOs) are civil court orders that prohibit firearm purchase and possession when someone is behaving dangerously and is at risk of harming themselves and/or others. As of June 2024, ERPOs are available in ... Full text Cite
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Recent Grants


Predicting firearm suicide in military veterans outside the VA health system using linked civilian electronic health record data

ResearchPrincipal Investigator · Awarded by National Institutes of Health · 2023 - 2027

Implementation of Extreme Risk Protection Orders: Experiences of special populations

ResearchCo Investigator · Awarded by Elizabeth K Dollard Charitable Trust · 2025 - 2026

Justice Involvement Population Training and Technical Support Scope of Work Deflection, Diversion and Reentry Community Programming

Public ServiceCo Investigator · Awarded by University of North Carolina - Chapel Hill · 2024 - 2026

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Education, Training & Certifications


Yale University · 1985 Ph.D.
Yale University · 1980 M.A.