# RFA-CE-23-006, A Virtual Reality Brief Violence Intervention: Preventing gun violence among violently injured adults

> **NIH ALLCDC R01** · VIRGINIA COMMONWEALTH UNIVERSITY · 2024 · $649,818

## Abstract

Abstract
Firearm-related violence is a major public health problem in the United States. Between 2019 and 2020, firearm-
related homicide increased by nearly 35%, and 2021 saw the highest gun-related homicide rates since 1993.
The effects of the pandemic have impacted the rates of violence, and we can expect to see these lasting effects
for many years. Nationally, young adults (18-35 years old) are the most at risk to die from firearm-related
violence. This is a risk that is not evenly shared among subpopulations of adults, with African American men
being 20 times more likely to die from firearm-related homicide than Caucasian men. Further, once discharged
from a hospital, violently injured adults are at an increased risk of violent re-injury and mortality, as well as 88
times more likely to engage in retaliatory violence. The hospital has become a critical location for violence
prevention. Unfortunately, patients who are most at risk of retaliatory violence are often difficult to engage in
intervention, which is why new and innovative strategies are needed to meet patients where their interests and
needs are. The goal of the present proposal is to develop and evaluate a virtual reality (VR) violence intervention,
Brief Violence Intervention VR (BVI-VR), to prevent incidents of firearm-related violence perpetration, re-injury,
and mortality. BVI-VR provides patients with culturally relevant immersive stories and gameplay while providing
them with psychoeducation and intervention to increase resiliency to retaliatory firearm-related violence across
five steps: (1) emotion regulation and managing trauma, (2) conflict resolution and non-violent alternatives, (3)
gun safety, (4) future goals and aspirations, and (5) community resource connection. This will be the first VR
intervention targeting adult firearm-related violence, injury, and mortality. BVI-VR provides the connection
between an immersive individual-level intervention and exposure/connection to community resources tailored to
the patient’s local community. The present study addresses Funding Option B of this funding announcement,
which supports research projects that collect new data and/or implement prevention activities. This study will
conduct a randomized control trial including 220 violently injured adults to assess the effectiveness of BVI-VR
for preventing firearm-related violence, injury, and mortality. The study also aims to identify risk and protective
factors that are most malleable (mediators) to change in response to BVI-VR. Lastly, we will assess the economic
efficiency of BVI-VR as a brief hospital-based gun violence prevention strategy. The results from this study may
support the use of BVI-VR as a cost-effective strategy for preventing firearm-related violence, injury, and
mortality among victims of violence.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10900438
- **Project number:** 5R01CE003625-02
- **Recipient organization:** VIRGINIA COMMONWEALTH UNIVERSITY
- **Principal Investigator:** Nicholas David Thomson
- **Activity code:** R01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** ALLCDC
- **Fiscal year:** 2024
- **Award amount:** $649,818
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2023-09-30 → 2025-09-29

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10900438

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10900438, RFA-CE-23-006, A Virtual Reality Brief Violence Intervention: Preventing gun violence among violently injured adults (5R01CE003625-02). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-25 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10900438. Licensed CC0.

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