NCT03375099

Comparison of Lethal Means Counseling and an Active Control Condition, With and Without Provision of Gun Locks

Completed NA Last updated 20 May 2021

What this trial tests

NA trial testing Lethal Means Counseling in Intentional Self-Harm by Other Specified Means in 232 participants. Completed in 14 July 2020.

Timeline

1 June 2017

Primary endpoint
14 July 2020

14 July 2020

Quick facts

Lead sponsor	University of Southern Mississippi
Phase	NA
Status	Completed
Study type	INTERVENTIONAL
Allocation	randomized
Design	factorial
Masking	single
Primary purpose	prevention
Enrollment	232
Start date	1 June 2017
Primary completion	14 July 2020
Estimated completion	14 July 2020
Sites	1 location across United States

Drugs / interventions tested

• Lethal Means Counseling
• Health and Stress Reduction

Conditions studied

• Intentional Self-Harm by Other Specified Means — all drugs for Intentional Self-Harm by Other Specified Means →

Sponsor

University of Southern Mississippi

Who can join

Adults 18 to 60, any sex, with Intentional Self-Harm by Other Specified Means. Patients with the condition only — healthy volunteers not accepted.

Sponsor's own description

In 2013, the National Guard reported a suicide rate that was substantially higher than both the general population and the active duty component of the United States military. The prototypical National Guard suicide decedent appears to be a young male firearm owner not currently deployed who dies using his own gun. Prior research within the military has revealed that soldiers are unlikely to seek out or engage in mental health services. In sum, current best practices in suicide risk assessment are poorly equipped to identify the individuals most likely to die by suicide. This study aims to examine the acceptability, feasibility, and utility of a single lethal means counseling session as part of a suicide prevention approach targeting demographic groups overrepresented in National Guard firearm suicides. 232 firearm-owning National Guard personnel will be randomized to one of four conditions, each of which requires a single 15-25 minute session: (1) lethal means counseling (2) lethal means counseling plus the provision of free gun locks (3) health and stress control condition (4) health and stress control condition plus the provision of free gun locks. The investigators anticipate that those who receive lethal means counseling will subsequently store their personal firearms more safely and report being more willing to store their firearms away from the home during any hypothetical future suicidal crisis. The overarching goal of each hypothesis is to examine the extent to which gun owning young male National Guard personnel at varying levels of suicide risk are willing to engage in means safety.

Publications & conference data

1 peer-reviewed publication reference this trial (live from Europe PMC):

1. Lethal Means Counseling, Distribution of Cable Locks, and Safe Firearm Storage Practices Among the Mississippi National Guard: A Factorial Randomized Controlled Trial, 2018-2020.
   Anestis MD, Bryan CJ, Capron DW, Bryan AO. · · 2021 · cited 60× · PMID 33351652 · DOI 10.2105/ajph.2020.306019