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Project Safe Guard-Trauma

Key facts

Who runs it
University of Colorado, Denver
Where
Aurora, United StatesSee the site
Trial code
Status
Recruiting
People taking part
168 people, planned
Started
15 May 2025
Expected to end
14 Sept 2028
Type of study
Interventional, 2 groupsOne group gets an existing treatment, for comparison.
Treatments tested
  • Project Safe Guard - Trauma
  • Project Safe Guard
Record updated
13 November 2026

Who can take part

Age
18 years and older
Sex
Women and men
Healthy volunteers
Cannot take part

The registry criteria, word for word

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Who can take part

  • Aged 18+ years
  • Firearm owner
  • History of one or more victimization traumas per the Life Events Checklist for Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders-5 (DSM-5) (LEC-5), defined as having directly experienced physical assault, sexual assault, combat, and/or captivity
  • Positive posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) screen on the Primary Care PTSD Screen for DSM-5 (PC-PTSD-5)
  • Willing to provide physical location at time of Zoom sessions
  • Willing to keep Zoom camera on during study sessions
  • Ability to read, write, and speak English
  • Physically be in the state of Colorado during the intervention session

Who cannot take part

  • Known history of violent or threatening behavior towards hospital staff
  • Currently stores all personal firearms unloaded and locked
  • Active psychosis or acute mania necessitating clinical intervention
  • Acute thoughts of self- or other-harm necessitating imminent clinical intervention (e.g., hospitalization)
  • Unable to provide informed consent

Where in United States

  • University of Colorado Anschutz Medical CampusAurora, United StatesContact: Julia Finn, MPHTaking people

About the trial

What the trial wants to find out

The goal of this randomized controlled trial is to determine if a counseling intervention, Project Safe Guard-Trauma (PSG-T), increases secure firearm storage practices in adults who screen positive for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). The main questions this study aims to answer are:

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* Does PSG-T lead to more secure firearm storage practices? * Does PSG-T increase knowledge about the link between firearm storage practices and suicide risk? * Does PSG-T increase intentions to store firearms securely?

Researchers will compare PSG-T to a control, Project Safe Guard (PSG), which is a counseling intervention that does not focus on the potential influence of PTSD symptoms on firearm storage practices. This will help to determine if PSG-T works better than PSG to increase secure firearm storage in adults with elevated PTSD symptoms.

Participants will:

* Complete a baseline survey * Receive the counseling intervention * Complete a survey immediately after the intervention and at 1-, 3-, and 6-months following the intervention

The 2 groups in the trial

  • Project Safe Guard - TraumaTreatment being tested

    Participants randomized into this arm will be offered Project Safe Guard-Trauma (PSG-T), which is a brief, single-session intervention designed to promote secure firearm storage practices among individuals with PTSD. Participants in this arm will also receive crisis response planning (CRP).

  • Project Safe GuardExisting treatment, for comparison

    Participants randomized into this arm will be offered Project Safe Guard (PSG), which is a brief, single-session intervention designed to promote secure firearm storage practices. Participants in this arm will also receive crisis response planning (CRP).

Questions to ask the study team

  1. How often do I need to come in, and for how long each time?
  2. Are travel costs paid?
  3. Can I keep my own doctor?
  4. What happens if I want to stop?

Contact the study team: see the registry record → Contacts and Locations

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Data and sources

Registry record
Listed on ClinicalTrials.gov.
Official title
Project Safe Guard-Trauma (PSG-T): A Randomized Controlled Trial of Counseling to Promote a Secure Home Environment
Record updated
13 November 2026