NCT03386409

Firearm Storage Device Distribution to Families of Children With Mental Health Complaints

Impact of Firearm Safety Device Distribution on Firearm Exposure in the Households of Patients With Mental Health Complaints

• Status: Completed
• Phase: N/A
• Study type: Interventional
• Enrollment: 255 (actual)
• Sponsor: Seattle Children's Hospital · Academic / Other
• Sex: All
• Age: 17 Years
• Healthy volunteers: Not accepted

Summary

This study aims to describe the baseline rate of safe firearm storage device use in the homes of pediatric patients with mental health complaints treated in the Emergency Department (ED) and/or inpatient psychiatric unit of an urban tertiary pediatric hospital. Follow-up data will be collected to ascertain any change(s) in the rate of safe firearm storage device use after patients have been treated for a mental health complaint, which includes standardized recommendations for safe firearm storage practices. This study also involves an intervention to distribute safe firearm storage devices to families of pediatric mental health patients during their hospital visit, and assesses whether safe storage device distribution impacts reported future rate of firearm safety device use.

Detailed description

Firearm injuries are a significant cause of morbidity and mortality for children and teens. Access to firearms has been associated with suicide completion in the pediatric mental health population. Current practice in our pediatric Emergency Department (ED) and inpatient psychiatric unit is to screen all mental health patients for firearm access, and to recommend safe firearm storage practices. However, there is no data on the baseline rate of safe firearm storage device use in the homes of these patients, or on the effectiveness of providing these recommendations during hospitalization. This study has two phases, a baseline and an intervention. During the baseline phase, the research team will study whether there is an improvement in safe firearm storage device use in the homes of participants 7 or 30 days after safe storage practices are recommended during an ED or inpatient psychiatric visit. During the intervention phase, in addition to the standard recommendation of safe storage practices during the visit, the research team will distribute firearm safety storage devices such as a lock box, trigger lock, and and/or cable lock to families at the time of study enrollment. The investigators will study whether there is an improvement in safe firearm storage device use in the homes of intervention participants after 7 or 30 days compared to the usual care group.

Conditions

• Mental Health Disorders
• Suicide or Selfinflicted Injury by Firearms and Explosives

Interventions

Type	Name	Description
BEHAVIORAL	Free safe firearm storage device distribution	Participants in the experimental phase of the study receive a safe firearm storage device at the time of study enrollment. They are randomized to receive a free device. Safe firearm storage devices include a California Department of Justice-approved lock box, trigger lock and/or cable lock.
BEHAVIORAL	Low cost safe firearm storage device	Participants in the experimental phase of the study receive a safe firearm storage device at the time of study enrollment. They are randomized to receive a low cost ($5) device. Safe firearm storage devices include a California Department of Justice-approved lock box, trigger lock and/or cable lock.

Timeline

• Start date: 2016-02-12
• Primary completion: 2019-01-01
• Completion: 2019-02-01
• First posted: 2017-12-29
• Last updated: 2022-05-04

Locations

1 site across 1 country: United States