Safer Still: helping families keep firearms safely after a teen’s hospital stay
Official title: Safer Still
Funded at Research Inst Nationwide Children's Hosp · NIH-11419971 · Data updated 2026-11-12
A project to help parents of high-risk teens store firearms safely after being discharged from psychiatric care, using easy nudges delivered through technology.
Quick facts
| Grant type | NIH-funded research |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | Research Inst Nationwide Children's Hosp NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Columbus, United States) |
| Project start | August 1, 2022 |
| Project end | July 31, 2027 |
| Funding year | 2026 |
| Award (this year) | $203,643 |
| NIH project number | 5P50MH127476-05 |
| Project ID | NIH-11419971 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
Parents or guardians of adolescents (ages around 12-17) who own firearms and have disclosed unsafe firearm storage.
✕Less likely to help
Teens without access to firearms or families already practicing safe storage may see limited direct benefit.
What this research studies
After a teen’s inpatient psychiatric stay, the risk of suicide remains very high. This grant aims to develop an interactive, BE-informed intervention called Safer Still that nudges families toward safer firearm storage during this vulnerable period, without requiring extra clinic visits. The study will test how well these prompts work in real-world settings and how easily they can be adopted into routine care. It focuses on parents of adolescents who own firearms and have unsafe storage practices, using a two-phase hybrid design to evaluate effectiveness and implementation. The approach blends psychology, economics, and marketing ideas to shape safer decision making for families.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, families may maintain safer homes for teens after hospitalization, potentially reducing suicides among high-risk youths.
How similar studies have gone: Prior studies in behavioral economics-informed health nudges have shown promise in changing risky behaviors, but this is a novel application for post-hospital suicide prevention.
Where this research is happening
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Research Inst Nationwide Children's Hosp
Columbus, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Bridge, Jeffrey a — Research Inst Nationwide Children's Hosp
- Study coordinator: Bridge, Jeffrey a
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.