Universal firearm injury and violence prevention counseling of parents and patients has been recommended by multiple national organizations for over a decade, yet clinicians rarely deliver this counseling. Barriers to its implementation must be addressed in order to effectively deliver firearm related injury prevention efforts. This study will implement a universal firearm injury prevention initiative within a national cohort of three pediatric trauma centers. The investigator's long-term goal is to demonstrate best practices for pediatric trauma center-based firearm injury prevention strategies that promote safe storage practices and reduce firearm related injury and death. This research will test the effectiveness of a comprehensive training strategy for improving the implementation of a universal firearm injury prevention effort, ACTFAST (Adopting Comprehensive Training for FireArm Safety in Trauma centers), to 1) increase the adoption, implementation and sustainability of a universal firearm injury prevention initiative within participating pediatric level 1 trauma centers; 2) increase firearm safety knowledge, attitudes and safe firearm storage practices among parents of pediatric trauma patients and youth patients treated within participating pediatric level 1 trauma centers, and 3) increase trauma center clinicians' firearm safety knowledge and confidence in delivering a firearm safety intervention.
Study Type
INTERVENTIONAL
Allocation
NON_RANDOMIZED
Purpose
OTHER
Masking
NONE
Enrollment
1,000
Firearm access screening, brief firearm safe storage intervention, and referral to community and preventive health resources
Johns Hopkins Medicine
Baltimore, Maryland, United States
Implementation of Intervention
This outcome will be measured using chart review protocols examining rates of firearm access screening, documentation of firearm safety counseling, documentation of referral to community based resources and connection to medical homes as well as patient hospitalization characteristics including admission diagnosis, injury severity and patient demographic characteristics.
Time frame: 3 years
Parent firearm safety attitudes and behaviors
This outcome will be measured using parent survey and interview adapted from prior work by the study team.
Time frame: 3 years
Clinician firearm safety knowledge and confidence
This outcome will be measured using clinician surveys derived from multiple sources developed through the prior work of members of the study team.
Time frame: 3 years
Adolescent patient firearm safety attitudes and behaviors
Measure firearm injury prevention knowledge, attitudes and safe firearm practices of adolescent trauma patients (11-17 years) within participating pediatric level 1 trauma centers. This outcome will be measured using patient survey and interview adapted from prior work by the study team.
Time frame: 3 years
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