Implementing A Secure Firearm Storage Program in Illinois Health Centers in Partnership With AllianceChicago and the Illinois Primary Health Care Association (COMMUNITY ASPIRE)

Overview

This randomized controlled trial will take place in up to 15 community health centers across the state of Illinois. Researchers will be studying S.A.F.E. Firearm, a program that aims to increase secure storage of firearms in homes with children. Specifically, S.A.F.E. Firearm includes a brief conversation between pediatric clinicians and parents about secure firearm storage and an offer of a free cable firearm lock within the well-child visit. Researchers will also study a package of strategies to help pediatric clinics incorporate this new practice. The strategies include training for clinic personnel and facilitation, or tailored problem-solving support. The questions the study aims to answer are: * How effective is the package of strategies at helping pediatric clinics adopt this new practice? * How effective is the S.A.F.E. Firearm program at changing parents' and guardians' firearm storage behavior? Some parents and guardians will be invited to complete a brief survey after their visit about their experiences receiving S.A.F.E. Firearm. Some community health center personnel will also be invited to complete an interview about their experiences with S.A.F.E. Firearm and the package of strategies.

While some large health systems have successfully adopted secure firearm storage programs such as S.A.F.E. Firearm into routine practice, there is limited research on the implementation of secure firearm storage programs in community settings, such as community health centers, which serve large populations of Americans. These settings often face challenges such as financial pressures and high staff turnover, which were made worse by the COVID-19 pandemic. Therefore, before deploying a secure firearm storage program in this new setting, adaptation is needed. As part of Aim 1 of the grant funding this project, the research team is working with local community-based organizations, firearm safety experts, community health center personnel, and parents and guardians (hereafter, "parents") to understand the changes that need to be made to the S.A.F.E. Firearm program and the package of implementation strategies that have been successfully used in previous studies to help pediatric clinics adopt this new practice (training, facilitation, other strategies selected in tandem with partners in the adaptation process). The research team will incorporate needed changes before the present trial will begin. In the present study, the research team will conduct a hybrid type III effectiveness-implementation trial to test the effect of the adapted S.A.F.E. Firearm program and associated strategies. The trial will be conducted across pediatric well-visits in community health centers across the state of Illinois using a stepped wedge design. Clinics will be randomized into clusters of clinics and the implementation approach (staff training, facilitation, other strategies selected in tandem with partners in the adaptation process) will be activated upon the start of each step. Aims for the study include: Aim 2. We will conduct a pragmatic hybrid type III stepped wedge effectiveness-implementation randomized controlled trial with community health centers across Illinois to test the effectiveness of our adapted implementation approach (training and facilitation emphasizing S.A.F.E. Firearm delivery) on parent-reported receipt of S.A.F.E. Firearm (i.e., reach; primary implementation outcome). We will also assess secondary implementation outcomes (stage of implementation, cost, acceptability) and effectiveness outcomes (parent firearm storage behavior). Aim 3. We will use mixed methods to identify mechanisms.