Safer Still (Exploratory Project 3)
- Conditions
- Suicide Prevention
- Interventions
- Behavioral: " Safer Still " Interactive Intervention
- Registration Number
- NCT06558409
- Lead Sponsor
- Jeff Bridge
- Brief Summary
The long-term goal is to decrease suicide and suicidal behaviors in at-risk youth through preventative interventions. Investigators propose to develop an interactive intervention ("Safer Still") to help promote safe storage of firearms during the critical period immediately following high-risk care transitions. The objective of this study is to develop and test the Safer Still intervention as an efficient adjunct to traditional care for adolescents aged 12-17 years who are discharged from psychiatric hospitals and living in households where firearms are stored unsafely.
- Detailed Description
The objective of this study is to develop and test the Safer Still intervention as an efficient adjunct to traditional care for adolescents aged 12-17 years who are discharged from psychiatric hospitals and living in households where firearms are stored unsafely. Exploratory aims of the study are as follows: (1) Evaluate parental motivation to change firearm storage behavior as a potential mediator of the three-month intervention effect. Investigators hypothesize that higher change scores in the "action" stage of the readiness to change model1 at one month will mediate the intervention effect at three months; (2) Identify whether the response to the Safer Still intervention varies by adolescent history of suicide attempt and parental primary reason for firearm ownership at one and three months; and (3) Ascertain common parental reasons for declining to safely store firearms.
Recruitment & Eligibility
- Status
- RECRUITING
- Sex
- All
- Target Recruitment
- 80
- Parent or legal guardian of an adolescent aged 12 to 17 years at time of consent
- Have a child who is receiving psychiatric inpatient, crisis, or emergency treatment at Nationwide Children's Hospital
- Indicate that at least one firearm is located in or around the residence of the adolescent and is stored unlocked, loaded, or both unlocked and loaded.
- Only one parent per household is permitted to participate to avoid contamination across the two study conditions.
- Inability to speak/read English
- Lack access to a digital device (smartphone, iPad, tablet computer, desktop, laptop PC).
Study & Design
- Study Type
- INTERVENTIONAL
- Study Design
- PARALLEL
- Arm && Interventions
Group Intervention Description Safer Still Intervention " Safer Still " Interactive Intervention First, we will present parents with suggested alternatives for restricting lethal means, particularly firearms and medications with high toxicity in overdose. We will present multiple options for restricting access as opposed to just one alternative that may be deemed unreasonable by a family. We will generate these options based upon the expertise of our lethal means consultant. Second, our mobile technology platform will provide weekly prompts about means restriction. Parents who have not restricted access to lethal means will be asked to document their reasons for inaction-a justification for not following safe storage practices. Third, our mobile technology platform will provide descriptive normative data (peer comparisons) regarding means restriction to those who have not secured these items. For example, parents will be given information that most other families of adolescents with significant emotional concerns do not have firearms or have utilized gun safety precautions.
- Primary Outcome Measures
Name Time Method Household Lethal Means Survey (HLMS) Baseline, One month and Three months The Household Lethal Means Survey (HLMS) asks the parent to indicate whether there are any guns kept in or around the home, and if so to describe how the gun(s) and ammunition are stored. The HLMS will be supplemented with three questions from the 2018 California Safety and Well-Being Survey. These three questions address reasons for firearm ownership, loaded handgun carrying in the past 30 days, and high-capacity magazine ownership. At follow-up, the study survey assesses whether and how firearm ownership and storage practices changed since baseline. Similar questions at baseline and follow-up are asked about lethal medications.
- Secondary Outcome Measures
Name Time Method Stages of Change Questionnaire (SOCQ) Baseline, One month, and Three months Readiness to change firearm and medication storage practices will be assessed using the Stages of Change Questionnaire (SOCQ), a psychometrically sound 12-item self-report measure ( 5-point Likert scale; -2 = "Strongly Disagree"; +2 = " Strongly Agree"). The scale will be used to measure the four stages of change (Pre-contemplation, Contemplation, Action, and Maintenance). Items numbered 1,3,6,10 Precontemplation, items numbered 2,4,7,11 = Contemplation and items numbered 5,8,9,12 = Action.
A negative scale score reflects an overall disagreement with items measuring the stage of change, whereas a positive score represents overall agreement. The highest scale score represents the Stage of Change Designation.
Trial Locations
- Locations (2)
Nationwide Children's Hospital
🇺🇸Columbus, Ohio, United States
Nationwide Children's Hospital Behavioral Health Pavillion
🇺🇸Columbus, Ohio, United States