University of Michigan Multi-disciplinary Coordinating Center for the Community Firearm Injury Prevention Network

Modified Project Summary/Abstract Section

Firearm injury is a major U.S. health issue requiring urgent attention. Firearm injuries have increased in the past decade, with >400,000 fatalities and ~1.2 million non-fatal firearm injuries. National organizations highlight the need for evidence-based interventions; yet, few rigorously tested community-engaged interventions addressing firearm injury prevention exist. Recognizing this gap, NIH launched the Community Interventions for Firearm Violence Prevention initiative comprised of research projects, a steering committee, a stakeholder committee, and the NIH, all of whom will collaborate in a cohesive network to evaluate the efficacy of such interventions across settings and populations with leadership from a Coordinating Center to: (a) integrate key activities; (b) harmonize and link data across the network, as well as with public databases to achieve sufficient statistical power to conduct complex integrated analyses and examine key differences across populations and/or settings; (c) enhance multi-disciplinary collaboration and knowledge sharing across key areas (e.g., methodology; analytic strategies; implementation; economic/policy analysis); and, (d) augment dissemination.

In 2017, NICHD funded the University of Michigan (UM) FACTS consortium to bring together >30 researchers across 14 U.S. Universities to build pediatric firearm research capacity. Along with developing a research agenda and novel research, FACTS built the data infrastructure necessary to conduct complex pooled analyses and archive/store data in a public repository. Building on the FACTS Consortium and our experience leading multiple Centers, the UM established the Institute for Firearm Injury Prevention (IFIP) to expand this research across the broader spectrum of firearm injuries.

We propose for the UM IFIP to serve as the network Coordinating Center for this initiative with five aims: AIM #1: Provide centralized administrative, operational, and logistical infrastructure to support network activities and enhance cross-project communication and coordination (Admin Core); AIM #2: Provide expert consultation and technical assistance to network projects regarding gold-standard scientific methods, research designs, and statistical methods, as well as establish the data infrastructure to facilitate cross-site data collection, management, harmonization, linkage, and archiving (Data Core); AIM #3: Enhance use of community-based participatory methods, including by facilitating a community ethics review for each project, ensuring community voice in the research design, methods, and results interpretation. (Community Core); AIM #4: Provide expert consultation to projects to incorporate implementation science and economic evaluation methods to enhance sustainability (Implementation Core); AIM #5: Disseminate key findings to academics, policy makers, and community partners utilizing traditional and innovative media (Communication Core). The proposal leverages U-M IFIP’s collective expertise, experience, and resources to aid the broader network initiative to reduce both the medical and psychological consequences of firearm injuries, while respecting and honoring the traditions of legal U.S. firearm ownership.

Grant Number: 4U24HD111315-02
NIH Institute/Center: NIH
Principal Investigator: Patrick Carter