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

Canandaigua VA Medical Center

Status: Completed

Conditions: Injuries

Treatments: Other: Exposure to firearm safety PSA; Other: Exposure to health promotion PSA

Study type: Interventional

Funder types: Other U.S. Federal agency

Identifiers

NCT03417752

910434

Details and patient eligibility

About

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.

Enrollment: 474 patients

Sex: All

Ages: 18 to 89 years old

Volunteers: Accepts Healthy Volunteers

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

Trial design

Primary purpose: Other

Allocation: Randomized

Interventional model: Parallel Assignment

Masking: Double Blind

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474 participants in 3 patient groups

Exposure to firearm safety Public Service Announcement (PSA)

Experimental group

Description:

Exposure to the firearm safety PSA (approx. 2.5 minutes long) once per week for 3 weeks.

Treatment:

Other: Exposure to firearm safety PSA

Exposure to a mix of PSAs

Experimental group

Description:

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.

Treatment:

Other: Exposure to firearm safety PSA

Other: Exposure to health promotion PSA

Active control

Active Comparator group

Description:

Exposure to the general health promotion video once per week for 3 weeks.

Treatment:

Other: Exposure to health promotion PSA