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NCT Number: NCT06239285

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

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.

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Key information

Conditions

Violence

Age range

18 year and older

Sex eligibility

All sexes

Study type

Interventional

Phase

Not applicable

Primary location

Virginia Commonwealth University

Richmond, Virginia, 232398, United States

Location status: Recruiting

Location contact

Nicholas Thomson

CONTACT

[email protected]

804-297-5740

About this study

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.

Who can participate

Healthy volunteers accepted: No

Only the study team can determine whether someone qualifies for participation.

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

Treatment and study plan

Brief Violence Intervention VR (BVI-VR)

Device

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

Treatment as usual (TAU)

Other

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.).

Primary outcomes

  1. Firearm-related violence /The gun violence questionnaire

    Time frame: Baseline self-report, 3- and 6-months post-randomization

    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 (α = .75) and good convergent and discriminant validity with other violence related measures

  2. Gun Behaviors and Beliefs Scale

    Time frame: 3 and 6 month post baseline

    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 (α = .79-.96).

  3. Firearm criminal conviction and arrests/ Criminal Background Checks

    Time frame: prior to baseline assessment, from baseline to 3-month follow-up, and from 3-month follow-up to the 6-month follow-up.

    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.

  4. Non-convicted firearm-related violent crime/ Violent Crime Assessment

    Time frame: 3 and 6 month post baseline

    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.

Secondary outcomes

  1. Firearm-related re-injury/ Self-report

    Time frame: 3 and 6 month post baseline

    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).

  2. Firearm-related re-injury/ Hospital data: Virginia Department of Health

    Time frame: 3 and 6 month post baseline

    Violent injury data are collected from VCU's hospital database.

  3. Firearm-related mortality/ Hospital data; Virginia Department of Health; National Death Index

    Time frame: 3 and 6 month post baseline

    Mortality rates will be collected from hospital records and the National Death Index database.

Study contacts

Contact information is provided by the study sponsor or research team.

Nicholas Thomson

CONTACT

[email protected]

(804) 297-5740

Sponsors and collaborators

Lead sponsor

Virginia Commonwealth University

Other

Collaborators

  • Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

Registry information

Important dates

Study start
2024
Primary completion
2026
Study completion
2026
First posted
Feb 2, 2024
Registry last updated
Jun 10, 2026

OpenTrials presents study information sourced from ClinicalTrials.gov. The official registry record should be consulted for the latest information.

View the official ClinicalTrials.gov record (opens in a new tab)

This listing is for discovery and informational purposes only. It is not medical advice, does not guarantee that a study is recruiting, and does not determine eligibility. Contact the study team and a qualified healthcare professional when considering participation.

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