Evaluating My Safety Steps: A Digital Intervention to Prevent Firearm-Related Harms in Intimate Partner Violence

Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore MD

Investigators

Abstract

Firearms are the most commonly used weapon in intimate partner homicides and homicide- suicides in the United States. This underscores the need for an evidence-informed intervention to address safety concerns in abusive relationships where the perpetrator owns or has access to a firearm. A trauma-informed digital firearm safety intervention called My Safety Steps (MySteps) was specifically designed to prevent firearm-related injuries and deaths in these contexts. In a pilot trial, MySteps was found to be feasible and acceptable, demonstrating preliminary efficacy for outcomes such as reducing an abusive partner’s access to a firearm. Participants also reported increased use of safety strategies to protect themselves from firearm-related harm. The proposed research will evaluate the efficacy of MySteps in a large-scale trial using a sequential, mixed-methods longitudinal design. For AIM 1 (qualitative), the study will refine MySteps based on input from participants in the pilot trial, followed by feedback from key informants and survivors of IPV whose partners had access to a firearm. For AIM 2 (quantitative evaluation), the study will conduct a longitudinal randomized controlled trial with 1060 IPV survivors whose partners own or have access to a firearm. Participants will be randomized to either the MySteps intervention arm (n=530) or the usual care control arm (n=530). Outcomes will be assessed at 3- and 6-month follow-ups. It is hypothesized that participation in MySteps will reduce an abusive partner’s access to a firearm. Additionally, survivors in the MySteps arm are expected to demonstrate greater use of firearm-specific safety strategies, increased self-efficacy, enhanced safety-related empowerment, and decreased exposure to IPV-related and firearm-related injuries, threats and abuse. For AIM 3 (qualitative, dissemination, and implementation), the study will collect data from organizational leaders, practitioners, and IPV survivors who participated in the MySteps trial to identify barriers and facilitators to integrating MySteps in community healthcare settings. Strategies to address these barriers will be developed. The findings will support the creation of an evidence-informed digital MySteps intervention designed to prevent firearm-related injuries and deaths in abusive relationships and will provide a scalable model for integration into community healthcare settings to prevent firearm-related harm in families affected by domestic abuse.