# Online Storage Maps to Facilitate Voluntary Firearm Storage: Mixed Methods Evaluation

> **NIH NIH R61** · UNIVERSITY OF COLORADO DENVER · 2020 · $1,241,599

## Abstract

7. PROJECT SUMMARY
Suicide accounts for the majority of firearm deaths in the United States, and up to 80% in many Western
states. Reducing firearm access for those at risk, including through temporary, voluntary storage away from
home, is a key suicide prevention strategy. New public-facing, online state maps in Colorado and Washington
display firearm ranges, retailers, and law enforcement agencies (LEAs) willing to consider temporary, voluntary
firearm storage. Key issues about this program include the views of storage suppliers (retailers, ranges, LEAs)
and of storage users (firearm owners and family members) and the best methods for program growth and
dissemination. This R61 proposal builds on preliminary work and is responsive to the RFA's call for “innovative
and culturally competent interventions”. Over a two-year period, our multidisciplinary, established study team
aims to use mixed methods (qualitative + quantitative) to examine the perspectives of (1) suppliers (ranges,
retailers, and LEAs in Colorado and Washington) and (2) users (firearm owners and family members in
Colorado and Washington) about statewide voluntary firearm storage maps, including participation, usage, and
preferred dissemination. We will also (3) develop an implementation toolkit for other states, informed by
interviews with stakeholders in the 11 other states already considering or creating maps. Our overarching
hypothesis is that voluntary, temporary out-of-home firearm storage is a desirable option for both suppliers and
users. We will use a combination of qualitative interviews with stakeholders (suppliers in Aim1a; users in Aim
2a; other states in Aim 3a) and surveys (suppliers in Aim 1b; users in Aim 2b); key stakeholder groups will
include storage suppliers and users as well as firearm injury and suicide prevention organizations and firearm
rights organizations. Our interdisciplinary, collaborative team brings a depth and breadth of relevant
experience, with additional guidance from an Expert Advisory Panel (including firearm retailers and
instructors). The proposed research will fill a critical need for usable, “culturally competent” tools to facilitate
out-of-home, temporary, voluntary firearm storage. The COVID-19 pandemic and its associated stressors,
surge in firearm sales, and concern for impending spike in suicide adds urgency to the need for acceptable,
effective strategies for firearm suicide prevention. Our proposed work will provide the scientific foundation for
rapid, broad dissemination of firearm storage maps and offers the potential to have a significant impact in
firearm suicide prevention efforts.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10164630
- **Project number:** 1R61MH125754-01
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF COLORADO DENVER
- **Principal Investigator:** Marian Elizabeth Betz
- **Activity code:** R61 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2020
- **Award amount:** $1,241,599
- **Award type:** 1
- **Project period:** 2020-09-21 → 2024-09-20

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10164630

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10164630, Online Storage Maps to Facilitate Voluntary Firearm Storage: Mixed Methods Evaluation (1R61MH125754-01). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-24 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10164630. Licensed CC0.

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