An interventional study of Implementation package (training, facilitation, electronic health record nudge) in Suicide, sponsored by Northwestern University. Not yet recruiting at 2 sites in United States. Open to participants aged 18 Years and older. Per ClinicalTrials.gov, last updated 2026-09-18.
Sponsored by Northwestern University · Not applicable, Interventional, and Health services research
In this randomized controlled trial, researchers will assess the expansion of the S.A.F.E. Firearm program into adult primary care and women's health at two health systems in Michigan and Colorado that have previously implemented S.A.F.E. Firearm in pediatrics. S.A.F.E. Firearm involves a brief conversation between health care staff and patients about secure firearm storage and an offer of a free firearm cable lock. Researchers will test S.A.F.E. Firearm and a package of strategies intended to help health care staff incorporate the program into their practice. The strategies include: training, a prompt in the electronic health record, and facilitation, or tailored problem-solving support.
The study seeks to answer the following questions:
Some patients and health care staff will be invited to participate in surveys and/or interviews about their experiences with S.A.F.E. Firearm and the implementation strategy package.
Reducing unauthorized access to firearms is a population-level suicide prevention strategy. S.A.F.E. Firearm is a universal evidence-based suicide prevention intervention primed for implementation nationally. In the largest hybrid type III effectiveness-implementation trial of its kind, funded by the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH; "ASPIRE" trial), we tested how to implement S.A.F.E. Firearm across approximately 45,000 well-child visits in 30 pediatric primary care clinics at Henry Ford Health (HFH) in Michigan and Kaiser Permanente Colorado (KPCO). We found that training, an electronic health record (EHR)-based clinician decision support ("nudge"), and facilitation (i.e., implementation support to clinics) resulted in robust practice change from approximately 2% reach (baseline) to 49% reach (active implementation). While the ASPIRE trial focused on delivery of the intervention to parents of young people, we have the rare opportunity to expand S.A.F.E. Firearm delivery for all adults via adult primary care and women's health clinics, offering a new context and broadened population. This holds promise given that (a) many of these patients will have children in their homes (e.g., parents, grandparents) and (b) adults may benefit from S.A.F.E. Firearm themselves because putting time and space between adults and loaded firearms can reduce firearm suicide.
The proposed study ("SCALE-ASPIRE") is motivated by HFH and KPCO constituents' eagerness to implement this intervention beyond pediatric primary care and will advance the science of implementation by understanding how to "scale-out" successful intervention and implementation efforts. In SCALE-ASPIRE, we will conduct a stepped wedge cluster randomized hybrid type II effectiveness-implementation trial in approximately 48 clinics in adult primary care and women's health at HFH and KPCO. In Aim 1, in collaboration with key partners including clinicians, leaders, and patients, we will use the ADAPT-ITT approach to adapt S.A.F.E. Firearm for the new clinic context and broadened population. In Aim 2, we will test the effectiveness of S.A.F.E. Firearm and our implementation approach (training, EHR nudge, facilitation) on effectiveness (firearm storage behavior, co-primary; suicide attempts, suicide deaths, and all-cause firearm injury and mortality, secondary) and implementation (reach, or patient-reported receipt of S.A.F.E. Firearm, co-primary; implementation fidelity and cost, secondary) outcomes. In Aim 3, the researchers will use mixed methods to elucidate intervention and implementation mechanisms and to better understand heterogeneity across levels. Specifically, we will conduct interviews to understand constituent perspectives, and explore how patient, clinician, and clinic factors relate to heterogeneity in our co-primary outcomes. Study results will guide the identification of effective secure firearm storage interventions, increase knowledge of effective implementation strategies in large health systems, and advance the literature on scaling out successful intervention and implementation efforts to new populations and settings.
607 studies on the registry are indexed under Suicide; 162 are open to participants now.
This study's planned enrollment of 5,442 is above the median of 104 across 490 interventional studies indexed under Suicide.
Browse Suicide studies →Northwestern University is the lead sponsor of 1,423 studies on the registry; 198 are open to participants now.
Of its 105 completed or terminated interventional studies of FDA-regulated products, 78 (74%) have results posted.
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Exclusion Criteria:
Each group of clinics will cross over from the baseline phase to the implementation phase, one at a time. In the implementation phase, the implementation approaches (training, EHR nudge, facilitation) and the S.A.F.E. Firearm program will be implemented. S.A.F.E. Firearm consists of health care staff having a secure firearm storage discussion with a patient during their visit and offering them a free cable firearm lock. The implementation phase will last for 6 months for each group of clinics.
Behavioral: Implementation package (training, facilitation, electronic health record nudge)
The study will begin with a baseline data collection phase. During the baseline data collection phase, no clinics will be exposed to S.A.F.E. Firearm nor the implementation approaches (training, EHR nudge, facilitation). The length of the baseline data collection phase will differ between each "wedge" (i.e., group of clinics) depending on when the group is randomly assigned to cross over into the implementation phase. All clinics will be in the baseline data collection phase for at least six months before the interventions are activated.
After the six-month period during which the implementation strategies (training, EHR nudge, facilitation) are enacted at a clinic, the research team will assess outcomes during the remainder of the study period in a "maintenance" phase. No additional training or facilitation will be received during this maintenance period following the implementation period. Clinics will still receive ongoing data reports, the the EHR nudge will remain turned on, and clinics will continue to deliver the S.A.F.E. Firearm program.
Training will consist of an initial presentation on S.A.F.E. Firearm by the study team, informational resources to support program delivery, and recommendations for self-guided continuing medical education programs. Facilitation will last 6 months at each site. It may involve 1) a readiness assessment for each clinic to identify implementation barriers and develop relationships with constituents; 2) kick-off meetings at trial launch, at which staff will identify how to implement S.A.F.E. Firearm in the clinic; 3) goal-setting within the first few months of the program; 4) trouble-shooting to address barriers identified during the pre-implementation readiness assessment and emergent challenges; and 5) designing a sustainment plan to maintain the program for future years. A clinician decision support ("nudge"), designed to align with best practices within each health system, will be deployed in the EHR workflow to remind clinicians to deliver S.A.F.E. Firearm and offer a cable lock.
Firearm storage behavior
Patients who indicate that there are firearms in or around their homes will be asked to report their firearm storage practices in (a) the 2 weeks prior to the visit; and (b) the 2 weeks after the visit. Respondents will indicate whether none, some, or all firearms were stored locked at each time point. Locked storage refers to storage in a container that limits access to the firearm (e.g., safe, cabinet, case) and/or storage with a cable or trigger lock.
Time frame: Firearm storage behavior will be collected via survey sent to patients after visits for the 3-year study period (baseline through maintenance phases)
Patient-reported reach of the S.A.F.E. Firearm program
The proportion of eligible visits for which patients report receiving the two components of S.A.F.E. Firearm (discussion of secure firearm storage, offer of a free cable firearm lock)
Time frame: Reach will be collected via survey sent to patients after visits for the 3-year study period (baseline through maintenance phases)
Plan to share: Undecided
No publications or documents are linked to this record.
Start is estimated for Jan 2027; primary completion for Jun 2029, 29 months later.
Of 308 non-industry interventional studies with no phase under Suicide, half reached primary completion within 30 months of starting (the median), counting those still running; a quarter within 15 and three quarters within 54. This study's planned 29 months is close to that.
Counting every sponsor, half of 319 studies reached it within 30 months; a quarter within 15 and three quarters within 53.
How these figures are worked out, and which studies are left out of them.
This study is not yet recruiting, as verified in Apr 2026. You cannot join it, but the record below documents what was studied.
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