Lethal Means Counseling, Distribution of Cable Locks, and Safe Firearm Storage Practices Among the Mississippi National Guard: A Factorial Randomized Controlled Trial, 2018–2020

Objectives. To examine whether lethal means counseling and provision of cable locks prompt safe firearm storage relative to control among firearm-owning members of the Mississippi National Guard. Methods. This randomized controlled trial utilized a 2 × 2 factorial design (lethal means counseling vs...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:American journal of public health (1971) Vol. 111; no. 2; pp. 309 - 317
Main Authors: Anestis, Michael D., Bryan, Craig J., Capron, Daniel W., Bryan, AnnaBelle O.
Format: Journal Article
Language:English
Published: United States American Public Health Association 01.02.2021
Subjects:
Accident Prevention - instrumentation
Accident Prevention - methods
Adult
Clinical research
Clinical trials
Counseling
Counseling - methods
Factorial design
Female
Firearms
Firearms - standards
Firearms - statistics & numerical data
Humans
Injury/Emergency Care/Violence
Intervention
Interviews
Locking
Locks
Male
Mental Health
Middle Aged
Military Personnel
Military reserves
Mississippi
Prevention
Public health
Questionnaires
Registration
Research and Analysis
Safety - standards
Storage
Suicidal behavior
Suicidal ideation
Suicides & suicide attempts
Young Adult
Mississippi
United States > US
ISSN:0090-0036, 1541-0048, 1541-0048
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Summary:Objectives. To examine whether lethal means counseling and provision of cable locks prompt safe firearm storage relative to control among firearm-owning members of the Mississippi National Guard. Methods. This randomized controlled trial utilized a 2 × 2 factorial design (lethal means counseling vs control, provision of cable locks vs no cable locks). Follow-up assessments took place at 3 and 6 months after baseline. Data were collected (n = 232; 87.5% male; mean age = 35.01 years; 77.2% White) from February 2018 through July 2020. Results. Relative to control, lethal means counseling and provision of cable locks resulted in greater adoption of several safe storage methods over time. Lethal means counseling outperformed control (3 months: 55.0% vs 39.0%; odds ratio [OR] = 1.91). Cable locks outperformed control at 3 and 6 months on number of storage methods (1.41 vs 1.11; d = 0.29 and 1.34 vs 1.16; d = 0.15, respectively) and locking devices (59.8% vs 29.9%; OR = 3.49 and 58.4% vs 35.8%; OR = 2.52, respectively) Conclusions. Lethal means counseling and cable locks can result in sustained changes in firearm storage. Public Health Implications. The military may benefit from lethal means counseling, perhaps administering at point of entry. Trial Registration. Clinical Trials.gov identifier: NCT03375099.
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M. D. Anestis led the conceptualization and implementation of the study, wrote approximately 60% of the initial draft of the article, and led the effort at revisions. C. J. Bryan contributed to the conceptualization of the study, co-led the training of study clinicians, ran the analyses, wrote approximately 20% of the initial draft of the article, and contributed to the revision process. D. W. Capron helped lead the conceptualization and implementation of the study, wrote approximately 10% of the article, and contributed to the revision process. A. O. Bryan helped co-lead the training of study clinicians, led the fidelity monitoring and clinical supervision of study clinicians, wrote approximately 10% of the article, and contributed to the revision process.
Peer Reviewed
CONTRIBUTORS
ISSN:0090-0036
1541-0048
1541-0048
DOI:10.2105/AJPH.2020.306019