Funded Research |Violence Prevention|Injury Center|CDC

Funded Research |Violence Prevention|Injury Center|CDC



CDC Research Awards Seek to Understand Causes of Firearm Violence, Find Solutions

Every day in the United States, about 109 people die from a firearm-related injury. For every firearm death, at least two nonfatal firearm injuries are treated in emergency departments. Yet, we know that that many of these injuries and deaths could be prevented. This September marks an important milestone in progress toward prevention, as CDC awards funding for research to understand and prevent firearm violence. Sixteen awardees will receive support as part of the competitively funded RFA-CE-20-006: Research Grants to Prevent Firearm-Related Violence and Injuries (R01) and 2 will receive support as part of the competitively-funded RFA-CE-20-002: Grants to Support New Investigators in Conducting Research Related to Preventing Interpersonal Violence Impacting Children and Youth. A summary of the awards is below. This research is an important step toward keeping individuals, families, schools, and communities safe from firearm violence and its consequences. Please visit CDC’s Firearm Violence Prevention Funded Research page for more information. RFA-CE-20-006: Research Grants to Prevent Firearm-Related Violence and Injuries (R01 Grants) The purpose of this initiative is to directly improve understanding of firearm-related violence and promising prevention approaches by supporting activities under one or both of the following two research objectives: 1) help inform the development of innovative and promising opportunities to enhance safety and prevent firearm-related injuries, deaths, and crime, and 2) rigorously evaluate the effectiveness of innovative and promising strategies to keep individuals, families, schools, and communities safe from firearm-related injuries, deaths, and crime. Two-year Projects Firearm Behavioral Practices and Suicide Risk in U.S. Army Soldiers and Veterans Principal Investigator: Dr. David Benedek, Henry M. Jackson Foundation First Year Award: $350,000 Short Summary: This study will analyze longitudinal data to improve understanding of the motivations and opportunities for suicide prevention among service members and Veterans who own firearms, store them in unsafe conditions, and use them to hurt others or themselves. Exposure to Violence and Subsequent Weapons Use: Integrative Data Analysis Across Two Urban High-Risk Communities Principal Investigator: Dr. Rowell Huesmann, University of Michigan at Ann Arbor First Year Award: $349,846 Short Summary: This study will use integrative analyses of two longitudinal datasets to examine how individual, family, and neighborhood risk factors for gun violence affect the development of violence- and weapons-related social cognitions and behaviors into early adulthood. Prevalence of Community Gun Violence Exposure and Consequences for Adolescent Well-Being: Identifying Sources of Heterogeneity to Disrupt the Cycle of Violence Principal Investigator: Dr. Nicole Kravitz-Wirtz, University of California at Davis First Year Award: $299,245 Short Summary: This study will estimate the population prevalence and consequences of youths’ direct and indirect exposure to community gun violence to inform prevention efforts. Using Small-Area Estimates of Firearm Ownership to Investigate Violence Disparities and Firearm Policy Effects Principal Investigator: Dr. Andrew Morral, Rand Corporation First Year Award: $349,829 Short Summary: This study is designed to use small-area estimation techniques to generate informative estimates of household firearm ownership and then use these new estimates to test the effects of firearm safety policies. Firearm Access, Opioid Use, and Firearm Suicide Mortality Principal Investigator: Dr. Aimee Moulin, University of California at Davis First Year Award: $321,067 Short Summary: This study examines the synergistic impacts of firearm access and opioid-related harm on firearm suicide risk at the individual and population levels in the state of California. Understanding the Epidemiology of Firearm Injuries in a Large Urban County: A Guide for Targeted Intervention Efforts Principal Investigator: Dr. Bindi Naik-Mathuria, Baylor College of Medicine First Year Award: $342,190 Short Summary: This study will integrate data from trauma centers, the medical examiner's office, and law enforcement to examine individual-level and neighborhood-level risk factors for firearm-related violence. An Examination of Firearm Violence Crises Using Crisis Text Line Data: Filling a Critical Gap Principal Investigator: Dr. Anna Yaros, Research Triangle Institute First Year Award: $349,909 Short Summary: This study will analyze Crisis Text Line data related to multiple types of firearm violence to help inform firearm violence prevention activities. Three-year Projects IntERact: Preventing Risky Firearm Behaviors Among Urban Youth Seeking Emergency Department Care Principal Investigator: Dr. Patrick Carter, University of Michigan at Ann Arbor First Year Award: $649,999 Short Summary: This study will determine the effectiveness of IntERact, a technology-enhanced behavioral intervention, in reducing risky firearm behaviors, firearm carriage and violence, and co-occurring mental health and behavioral risks among youth seeking treatment in an emergency department. Multi-Site External Validation and Improvement of a Clinical Screening Tool for Future Firearm Violence Principal Investigator: Dr. Jason Goldstick, University of Michigan at Ann Arbor First Year Award: $649,991 Short Summary: This study will use cutting-edge machine learning methods to optimize the ability to assess youth risk for firearm violence so that prevention resources and emergency department interventions can be used efficiently. An Evaluation of the Gun Shop Project: Suicide Prevention Led by the Firearms Community Principal Investigator: Dr. Sabrina Mattson, University of Colorado First Year Award: $649,898 Short Summary: This study is looking at Gun Shop Projects (GSPs), community-driven suicide prevention partnerships, to better understand how they impact firearm safety behaviors and suicides involving firearms. Participatory Action Research to Inform a Social-Ecological Model of Gun-Related Attitudes, Behaviors, and Practices Principal Investigator: Dr. Krista Mehari, University of South Alabama First Year Award: $607,195 Short Summary: This study is looking at risky gun-related behaviors and the acceptability of specific approaches to prevention for populations at greatest risk for homicide (African American boys and young men) and suicide (older White men). Reframing Firearm Injury Prevention Through Bystander Interventions for Youth Shooting Sports Participants Principal Investigator: Dr. Megan Ranney, Brown University First Year Award: $649,753 Short Summary: This study will evaluate the effectiveness of a bystander intervention in changing firearm injury prevention norms, attitudes, intentions, and behaviors among a sample of fifty 4-H Shooting Sports Club communities. Culture, Longitudinal Patterns, and Safety Promotion of Handgun Carrying Among Rural Adolescents: Implications for Injury Prevention Principal Investigator: Dr. Ali Rowhani-Rahbar, University of Washington First Year Award: $461,284 Short Summary: This study will identify the context, antecedents, and consequences of handgun carrying among adolescents who reside in rural communities in order to inform culturally appropriate and community-specific interventions. ShootSafe: An Interactive Web Platform to Teach Children Hunting, Shooting, and Firearms Safety Principal Investigator: Dr. David Schwebel, University of Alabama at Birmingham First Year Award: $650,000 Short Summary: This project will develop and evaluate ShootSafe, a website designed to teach children how to engage safely with firearms to reduce risk for unintentional pediatric firearm-related injuries and deaths. Firearm Involvement in Adolescent Children of Formerly Incarcerated Parents: A Prospective Intergenerational Study of Resilience Within Families Principal Investigator: Dr. Linda Teplin, Northwestern University at Chicago First Year Award: $506,943 Short Summary: This study will use prospective and intergenerational data to examine differences within and between families in risk and protective factors for youth involvement with firearms. Preventing Retaliatory Gun Violence in Violently Injured Adults: A Randomized Control Trial of a Hospital-Based Intervention Principal Investigator: Dr. Nicholas Thomson, Virginia Commonwealth University First Year Award: $649,720 Short Summary: This study will determine the effectiveness of a hospital-based violence prevention program for reducing risk of firearm-related violence and injury in adult victims of violence. RFA-CE-20-002: Grants to Support New Investigators in Conducting Research Related to Preventing Interpersonal Violence Impacting Children and Youth (K01 Grants) The purpose of this initiative is to provide support for an intensive, mentored career development experience in conducting violence prevention research. CDC supports K01 grants to help ensure the availability of an adequate number and diverse group of highly trained scientists to address critical public health research questions to prevent violence and injury. CDC awarded support to four recipients. Two of the recipients are focused on firearm-related research and their projects are described below. Preventing Youth Violence Through Technology Enhanced Street Outreach: A Community Engaged Approach Principal Investigator: Dr. Caitlin Elsaesser, University of Connecticut Storrs First Year Award: $125,000 Short Summary: This study will gather formative and survey data to develop an intervention to reduce threats expressed via social media that have been implicated in firearm-related violence and other forms of youth violence. Physical, Social, and Economic Environments and Firearm Fatalities Among Youth Principal Investigator: Dr. Rose Kagawa, University of California at Davis First Year Award: $124,066 Short Summary: This study will examine neighborhood-level exposures and how they work together to impact firearm violence.