CE25-029 - Enhancing an existing prevention strategy to reduce intentional firearm injuries among high-risk youth

PROJECT SUMMARY/ABSTRACT Substantial resources have been devoted to developing effective youth violence prevention (YVP) programs over the past 30+ years. However, firearm-specific risk factors were largely overlooked in the development of these programs due to previous barriers to studying firearm violence. This is concerning as firearms are a leading cause of injury and mortality among youth. There is a dire need to develop effective prevention strategies for intentional firearm injuries, particularly strategies that address cross-cutting risk factors for firearm-related violence and suicide. Rather than re-inventing the wheel, it is logical and feasible to enhance existing YVP programs to address firearm-specific risk factors for intentional injury. This project will use youth participatory action research to develop and test the preliminary effectiveness of SAFE Futures, a single-session intervention that will address cross-cutting risk factors for intentional firearm injuries from violence and suicide. A randomized controlled trial will be conducted to determine whether adding SAFE Futures to an existing YVP program for high-risk youth, Emerging Leaders, reduces firearm violence and suicide above and beyond Emerging Leaders alone. Importantly, this project will also examine the economic efficiency of SAFE Futures. SAFE Futures has great potential to be a cost-effective, resource-efficient tool to enhance YVP programs’ effectiveness in preventing intentional firearm injuries among youth. This project is closely aligned with CDC’s research priorities for interpersonal violence and cross-cutting prevention. The findings will inform an R01 proposal to conduct a larger RCT of SAFE Futures that builds on the proposed work. Importantly, this award will enable Dr. O’Connor, a promising early-stage investigator, to acquire skills and knowledge in community-engaged and qualitative research methods, clinical trials research, economic analysis, and cross-cutting risk factors for firearm injuries. Virginia Commonwealth University and its Level 1 Trauma Center provide a rich context for Dr. O’Connor’s career development, which is bolstered by a multidisciplinary team of expert mentors with substantial expertise relevant to her research and career goals and a successful track record of mentoring junior faculty into independent investigators. Ultimately, this K01 award will equip Dr. O’Connor with the training and protected time necessary to initiate a high-impact program of research on strategies to prevent intentional firearm injuries among youth.