A Hospital-based Intervention for Youth Injured Through Violence

NCT07475247 | Recruiting

• 2 other identifiers: HM20029563R01HD112416
• Study Type: interventional
• Target: 360
• Locations: 1 country
• Sites: 1

Brief Summary

The firearm violence epidemic is a major public health problem, especially for youth. Every day in the US, approximately 100 people fall casualty to firearms through forms of violence, such as homicide, suicide, and unintentional or accidental injuries. Among youth, firearm violence remains the leading cause of death, and each year the rate of firearm-related mortality is increasing. Beyond the significant and devastating cost of human life, firearm violence is an enormous economic burden to the US, which totals an estimated $229 billion annually. In urban communities with high rates of firearm-related violence, firearm-related emergency department visits are extremely draining on the hospital system. At the national level, firearm-related injuries account for $2.8 billion annually in emergency department care each.

Conditions

Violence

Keywords

Virtual Reality; Fire-arm violence among youth

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (7)

• Firearm-related violence assessment

  The Gun Violence Questionnaire is a 4-item screening tool used primarily in healthcare settings to predict the risk of future firearm violence among youth and young adults. Individuals are classified into low-risk (0 points), medium-risk (1-5 points), or high-risk (≥ 6 points)

  Baseline, Follow-up at 1 and 3 months post baseline

• Violent crime assessment

  Violent Crime Assessment is a process used by forensic, legal, and clinical professionals to estimate the likelihood, nature, and severity of future violent behavior. A 26-item tool that measures 6 static and 20 dynamic variables to assess both risk and potential for treatment change. Total scores typically range from -32 to +40; higher scores indicate a higher probability of re-offending.

  Baseline, Follow-up at 1 and 3 months post baseline

• Firearm-related attitudes and beliefs assessment

  Firearm Aggression Questionnaire contains subscales for reactive violence (e.g., using a gun when provoked) and proactive violence (e.g., using a gun to take things from others). Items are rated on a 3-point scale (0 = never, 1 = sometimes, 2 = often), with higher total scores indicating a greater frequency of firearm violence.

  Baseline, Follow-up at 1 and 3 months post baseline

• Firearm-related re-injury

  Number of injuries with and without hospitalization count. The lower the number is desired.

  Baseline, Follow-up at 1 and 3 months post baseline

• Risky behaviors

  Youth Risk and Behavior Survey (YRBS) is a survey monitoring health-risk behaviors among U.S. high school students (grades 9-12). It tracks six main areas: injury/violence, sexual behaviors, substance use, diet, physical activity, and mental health. The Youth Risk Behavior Survey (YRBS) is not "scored" like a typical academic or clinical test where individuals receive a personal score. Instead, it is a surveillance tool used to calculate prevalence estimates (percentages) for specific health-risk behaviors across a population.

  Baseline, Follow-up at 1 and 3 months post baseline

• Personality traits

  Behavior Assessment System for Children is a comprehensive, multi-method tool used by professionals (such as school psychologists and clinicians) to evaluate the individual behavioral and emotional status of children and young adults . BASC-3 results are reported as T-scores, which have a mean of 50 and a standard deviation of 10. The higher the score, the higher the risk.

  Baseline, Follow-up at 1 and 3 months post baseline

• Future aspirations

  The Positive Outlook Survey used to measure a student's psychological well-being, resilience, and optimism. Likert scales (e.g., 1 to 5) used to calculate a total "positivity" or "optimism" score. The higher the score, the higher the optimism.

  Baseline, Follow-up at 1 and 3 months post baseline

Study Arms (2)

Youth

EXPERIMENTAL

Youth (aged 13-17 years) who received treatment in the hospital for an intentional or unintentional injury, or youth recruited from community partners and other referrals.

Other: Elevate Virtual Reality (VR)

Caregiver

EXPERIMENTAL

Caregivers of youth participants (18 years and older).

Other: Elevate Virtual Reality (VR); Other: Assessement completion

Interventions

Elevate Virtual Reality (VR) OTHER

Elevate VR is a brief violence intervention program founded on the principles of positive psychology, motivational goal setting (via gameplay), psychoeducation, cognitive-behavioral therapy, and dialectical behavioral therapy. Elevate VR includes five psychoeducational topic modules creating a 40-minute brief violence intervention. This duration is similar to well-established brief hospital-based violence interventions.

Caregiver; Youth

Assessement completion OTHER

Questionnaires will be administered to assess Firearm-related violence ( The Gun Violence Questionnaire), Violent crime (Violent Crime Assessment) and Firearm-related attitudes and beliefs (Firearm Aggression Questionnaire)

Caregiver

Eligibility Criteria

• Age: 13 Years - 17 Years
• Sex: all
• Healthy Volunteers: No
• Age Groups: Child (0-17)

You may qualify if:

• Aged 13-17 years old
• English speaking

You may not qualify if:

• Youth aged \<13 years and \>17 years old
• Non-English speaking
• Youth of caregivers younger than 18 years old
• \- Aged 18 years or older
• \- Aged younger than 18 years

Sponsors & Collaborators

• Virginia Commonwealth University: lead
• Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD): collaborator

Study Sites (1)

Virginia Commonwealth University

Richmond, Virginia, 23298, United States

RECRUITING

Study Officials

• Nicholas Thomson

  Virginia Commonwealth University

  PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR

Central Study Contacts

Terri Sulivan

CONTACT

804-828-9304; tnsulliv@vcu.edu

Nicholas Thomson

CONTACT

804-628-5541; nthomson2@vcu.edu

Study Design

• Study Type: interventional
• Phase: not applicable
• Allocation: NON RANDOMIZED
• Masking: NONE
• Purpose: OTHER
• Intervention Model: PARALLEL
• Sponsor Type: OTHER
• Responsible Party: SPONSOR

Model Details: Youth (aged 13-17 years) who received treatment in the hospital for an intentional or unintentional injury, or youth recruited from community partners and other referrals; caregivers of youth participants (18 years and older). 180 youth-caregiver dyads (N=360)

Study Record Dates

• First Submitted: March 11, 2026
• First Posted: March 16, 2026
• Study Start: April 1, 2026
• Primary Completion (Estimated): October 1, 2028
• Study Completion (Estimated): October 1, 2028
• Last Updated: March 16, 2026

Record last verified: 2026-03

Locations

US (1)