The Use of Public Messaging for the Promotion of Firearm Safety to Veterans

August 7, 2020 updated by: Elizabeth Karras, Canandaigua VA Medical Center

Unlocking the Potential of VA Means Safety Programs: An Examination of the Use of Public Messaging for the Promotion of Firearm Safety to Veterans

This pilot study seeks to determine if exposure to the firearm safety public service announcement (PSA) developed by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) is associated with changes in related beliefs and safe storage practices. Participants are randomly assigned to message exposure or control conditions. Data from this project will inform injury prevention outreach efforts targeted towards Veteran populations.

Study Overview

Status

Completed

Conditions

Intervention / Treatment

Study Type

Interventional

Enrollment (Actual)

474

Phase

  • Not Applicable

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Ages Eligible for Study

18 years to 89 years (Adult, Older Adult)

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Genders Eligible for Study

All

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Veterans of all gender/sex, race/ethnicities
  • Living in United States
  • Fluent in English language
  • Capable of understanding the goals of the study
  • Possess computer/internet access

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Not a U.S. Veteran living in the United States
  • Determined to be cognitively impaired
  • Currently institutionalized (e.g., hospitalized; incarcerated, etc.)
  • Do not possess computer/internet access

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

  • Primary Purpose: Other
  • Allocation: Randomized
  • Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
  • Masking: Double

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm
Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: Exposure to firearm safety Public Service Announcement (PSA)
Exposure to the firearm safety PSA (approx. 2.5 minutes long) once per week for 3 weeks.
Other: Exposure to firearm safety PSA
Exposed to firearm safety PSA
Experimental: Exposure to a mix of PSAs
Exposure to a general health promotion video (approx. 2 minutes long) 1 week post-randomization followed by exposure to firearm safety PSA at 2- and 3-weeks post-randomization.
Other: Exposure to firearm safety PSA
Exposed to firearm safety PSA
Other: Exposure to health promotion PSA
Exposed to general health promotion PSA
Active Comparator: Active control
Exposure to the general health promotion video once per week for 3 weeks.
Other: Exposure to health promotion PSA
Exposed to general health promotion PSA

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Number of Participants With Self-reported Injury Prevention Belief
Time Frame: baseline
Number of participants with self-reported response to belief that "safe storage of household firearms is effective for reducing injury or death."
baseline
Number of Participants With Self-reported Injury Prevention Belief
Time Frame: 3 weeks post-baseline
Number of participants with self-reported response to belief that "safe storage of household firearms is effective for reducing injury or death."
3 weeks post-baseline

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Number of Participants Who Self-reported Firearm Storage Behavior at Baseline
Time Frame: baseline
Number of participants at baseline with self-reported safe household firearm storage (restricted to participants with self-reported firearm access)
baseline
Number of Participants Who Self-reported Firearm Storage Behavior at Exit
Time Frame: 3 weeks post-baseline
Number of participants at exit with self-reported safe household firearm storage (restricted to participants with self-reported firearm access)
3 weeks post-baseline

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

Canandaigua VA Medical Center

Investigators

  • Principal Investigator: Elizabeth Karras, PhD, VA Center of Excellence for Suicide Prevention

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start (Actual)

December 1, 2015

Primary Completion (Actual)

March 1, 2020

Study Completion (Actual)

March 1, 2020

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

January 25, 2018

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

January 25, 2018

First Posted (Actual)

January 31, 2018

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

August 19, 2020

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

August 7, 2020

Last Verified

August 1, 2020

More Information

Terms related to this study

Other Study ID Numbers

  • 910434

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?

No

Drug and device information, study documents

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product

No

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product

No

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

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