# RFA-CE-23-005, Firearm safety and injury prevention during early childhood: A parent engagement approach

> **NIH ALLCDC R01** · UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN AT ANN ARBOR · 2024 · $648,951

## Abstract

Abstract / Summary
Firearm-related injuries recently became the leading cause of death among children in the U.S., and children
under 5 years of age are among the largest age groups of all ages impacted by unintentional firearm injury.
Thirty-four percent of gun deaths among children under age 5 were unintentional, compared with less than 2%
of adults ages 20 and over.3 We posit that current approaches fail to prevent unintentional firearm injury and
mortality in early childhood for 3 key reasons: 1) mismatch in parents’ mental models of firearm risk and injury
prevention compared to expert recommendations; 2) barriers to safe firearm practices specific to the early
childhood period; and 3) need for precision messaging that addresses these issues and is delivered by trusted
messengers. The purpose of the proposed study is to address these gaps by engaging parents of young
children (ages 0 to 5 years) with a mixed-method, community-based approach for intervention development
and pilot implementation. Specifically, in response to NOFO RFA-CE-23-005 to inform firearm-related violence
and injury prevention strategies (funding option B), our Aims are to: First, conduct focus groups and interviews
with parents and experts and a national survey to better understand parents’ mental models and identify areas
of mismatch with expert views regarding firearm safety practices (including safe storage behavior and
communication with others in the child’s environment). We will use both quantitative and qualitative data to
examine and refine a theory-informed conceptual model of parent firearm safety practices and identify
modifiable factors related to parent mental models of firearm safety in early childhood; Second, use the
findings to develop effective intervention strategies, messages, and materials to address barriers to firearm
safety during early childhood and promote firearm safety behavior and communication; Third, engage parents
as trusted peer messengers to deliver a pilot version of the firearm safety intervention using parent-
empowerment techniques. We will evaluate receptivity of messages for firearm-owning parents with young
children, conduct process and outcome evaluation of the intervention using a case-control design and collect
both qualitative and quantitative data from participants to inform intervention refinement. The findings from this
project will inform promotion of effective firearm safety practices using a parent-empowerment model among
parents with young children.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10894586
- **Project number:** 5R01CE003592-02
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN AT ANN ARBOR
- **Principal Investigator:** Hsing-Fang Hsieh
- **Activity code:** R01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** ALLCDC
- **Fiscal year:** 2024
- **Award amount:** $648,951
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2023-09-30 → 2026-09-29

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10894586

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10894586, RFA-CE-23-005, Firearm safety and injury prevention during early childhood: A parent engagement approach (5R01CE003592-02). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-24 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10894586. Licensed CC0.

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