A Virtual Reality Brief Violence Intervention: Preventing Gun Violence Among Violently Injured Adults

Violence Clinical Trial

Official title:

A Virtual Reality Brief Violence Intervention: Preventing Gun Violence Among Violently Injured Adults

Clinical Trial Details — Status: Recruiting

Administrative data

• NCT number: NCT06239285
• Other study ID #: HM20027823_Thomson
• Secondary ID: R01CE003625
• Status: Recruiting
• Phase: N/A
• Start date: February 26, 2024
• Est. completion date: October 2026

Study information

• Verified date: June 2024
• Source: Virginia Commonwealth University
• Contact: Nicholas Thomson
• Phone: (804) 297-5740
• Email: Nicholas.thomson[@]vcuhealth.org
• Is FDA regulated: No
• Study type: Interventional

Clinical Trial Summary

The overall aim of the proposed project is to develop and evaluate the effectiveness of Brief Violence Intervention-Virtual Reality (BVI-VR) for reducing firearm-related violence, re-injury, and mortality among victims of violence. Outcome measures of firearm-related violence will come from multiple sources, including criminal background checks, hospital data, state-level data, semi-structured clinical assessments, and self-report assessments. In addition, the study aims to understand the impact of BVI-VR on psychosocial mediators resulting in a reduction of firearm-related violence. This will include self-report surveys, neurocognitive assessments, and clinical assessments. The economic efficiency of BVI-VR as a firearm-related violence intervention will also evaluated. To achieve these aims, a randomized control trial (RCT) in a large sample of violently injured adults (18+ years) from VCU Health will be conducted.

Description:

Brief Violence Intervention-Virtual Reality (BVI-VR) is being developed as a hospital-based brief gun violence intervention program founded on the principles of positive psychology, motivational goal setting (via gameplay), psychoeducation, cognitive-behavioral therapy, and dialectical behavioral therapy. This proposal will develop five steps to create a 30-minute brief firearm-related violence intervention. The five steps address a range of psychosocial risk factors and enhance protective factors for violence, as well as psychoeducational programming specifically addressing the risk of firearm violence. All steps of the BVI-VR emphasize being in control of making positive choices, and how to locate and leverage opportunities within their communities to improve their well-being. BVI-VR empowers patients to be the driver of their well-being.

Recruitment information / eligibility

• Status: Recruiting
• Enrollment: 220
• Est. completion date: October 2026
• Est. primary completion date: September 2026
• Accepts healthy volunteers: No
• Gender: All
• Age group: 18 Years and older

Eligibility

Inclusion Criteria:

• violently injured patients from VCU's Level 1 Trauma Center

• 18 years or older

• English-speaking

Exclusion Criteria:

• Under 18 years old

• Not a victim of Violent crime

Related Conditions & MeSH terms

• Violence

Intervention

Device:
• Brief Violence Intervention VR (BVI-VR)
BVI-VR is being developed as a hospital-based brief gun violence intervention program founded on the principles of positive psychology, motivational goal setting (via gameplay), psychoeducation, cognitive-behavioral therapy, and dialectical behavioral therapy. All steps of the BVI-VR emphasize being in control of making positive choices, and how to locate and leverage opportunities within their communities to improve their well-being. BVI-VR empowers patients to be the driver of their well-being

Other:
• Treatment as Usual (TAU)
group will receive a community resource brochure (the same one that is provided at the end of BVI-VR). This brochure provides contact detail for services in the local area. These include organizations that provide mental health counseling, mentorship services, career development programs, organized community activities and sports, educational support, financial support, substance abuse programs, and resource assistance (e.g., food, housing, etc.).

Locations

Country	Name	City	State
United States	Virginia Commonwealth University	Richmond	Virginia

Sponsors (2)

Lead Sponsor	Collaborator
Virginia Commonwealth University	Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

Country where clinical trial is conducted

United States, 

Outcome

Type	Measure	Description	Time frame	Safety issue
Primary	Firearm-related violence /The gun violence questionnaire	The gun violence questionnaire is a 9-item self-report that assesses firearm-related violence. Items were adapted from the Buss-Perry Aggression Questionnaire physical aggression scale; for example, "Given enough provocation, I may fire my gun at another person". The measure has adequate internal consistency (a = .75) and good convergent and discriminant validity with other violence related measures	Baseline self-report, 3- and 6-months post-randomization
Primary	Gun Behaviors and Beliefs Scale	Gun Behaviors and Beliefs Scale will be used to measure gun behaviors and beliefs that may be impacted by the intervention: Safety and Control, Social Perceptions, Emotional Risk, Common Beliefs. The subscales have demonstrated adequate to good internal consistency (a = .79-.96).	3 and 6 month post baseline
Primary	Firearm criminal conviction and arrests/ Criminal Background Checks	Criminal background checks will be conducted on participants to assess violent criminal arrests and gun-related crimes and police contacts. Criminal activity will be coded for the occurrence of nonviolent crime, violent crime, and firearm-related crime for three-time points: prior to baseline assessment, from baseline to 3-month follow-up, and from 3-month follow-up to the 6-month follow-up.	prior to baseline assessment, from baseline to 3-month follow-up, and from 3-month follow-up to the 6-month follow-up.
Primary	Non-convicted firearm-related violent crime/ Violent Crime Assessment	Violent Crime Assessment is a semi-structured clinical assessment of convicted and non-convicted violent crime. The measure captures six categories of violent crimes that participants have and have not been arrested for; simple assault, aggravated assault, homicide, robbery, rape, and sexual assault. Information is collected on weapon use for each of the crimes (e.g., used a firearm during rape; fired a gun at a party and may have hit someone). The VCA provides a valuable index for firearm-related violence that is not captured in self-report measures or criminal background checks.	3 and 6 month post baseline
Secondary	Firearm-related re-injury/ Self-report	Violent injury data are collected from self-report surveys which capture the number of times a participant has been violently injured and what the patient was injured by (GSW).	3 and 6 month post baseline
Secondary	Firearm-related re-injury/ Hospital data: Virginia Department of Health	Violent injury data are collected from VCU's hospital database.	3 and 6 month post baseline
Secondary	Firearm-related mortality/ Hospital data; Virginia Department of Health; National Death Index	Mortality rates will be collected from hospital records and the National Death Index database.	3 and 6 month post baseline