Promoting Safe Firearm Storage for Veterans with Video Stories and Social Media
Official title: Leveraging Video Vignettes and Social Media to Promote Safe Firearm Storage Among Veterans
Funded at Portland VA Medical Center · NIH-11342416 · Data updated 2026-11-12
A VA grant tests a new, veteran-centered approach using short video stories and Reddit to encourage families and friends to talk about safe firearm storage with veterans.
Quick facts
| Grant type | NIH-funded research |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | Portland VA Medical Center NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Portland, United States) |
| Project start | October 1, 2026 |
| Project end | September 30, 2030 |
| Funding year | 2026 |
| NIH project number | 1I01RD000496-01A1 |
| Project ID | NIH-11342416 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
Veterans and their loved ones or caregivers who interact with veterans and discuss firearm safety.
✕Less likely to help
Veterans without access to Reddit or without engaged social networks may see little direct benefit.
What this research studies
This project focuses on helping veterans reduce suicide risk by promoting safe storage of firearms through 13 short video vignettes told from loved ones’ perspectives. It plans to share these stories on Reddit to reach veterans where they already seek health information, aiming to spark conversations about LMS—lethal means safety—within communities. The research will measure how the videos influence discussions, awareness, and storage behaviors, and it will explore how this messaging scales through social media and family networks. The study is centered on real-world messaging and community engagement to support universal prevention of veteran suicide.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, veterans and their families could have more conversations about safe storage and learn practical steps to reduce suicide risk.
How similar studies have gone: Previous work suggests that personal stories and peer discussions can influence safety behaviors, but this exact WAV+Reddit approach is innovative in scale and format.
Where this research is happening
-
Portland VA Medical Center
Portland, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Teo, Alan — Portland VA Medical Center
- Study coordinator: Teo, Alan
About this research
- This is an active NIH-funded research project — typically early-stage science, not a clinical trial accepting patient enrollment.
- Some NIH-funded labs run parallel clinical studies or seek volunteers for related work. To check, contact the principal investigator or institution listed above.
- For full project details, budget, and progress reports, visit the official NIH RePORTER page.