UCFC Grants Programs

2020 Grantees

UNITE: UNderstanding the lInks between social determinants and firearm violence in California communiTiEs 
Rochelle Dicker, M.D.
UCLA, Division of General Surgery
This project aims to form a University of California trauma consortium, and to map fatal and non-fatal firearm injuries in trauma center catchment areas. We will link injuries with social determinants of health based on location of residence and injury location to understand vulnerable populations and root causes of violence. 

Advancing Peace: Credible Messengers & Community Gun Violence Reduction 
Jason Corburn, Ph.D.
UC Berkeley, Institute of Urban and Regional Development 
This proposal aims to understand how street outreach workers in Richmond, Sacramento and Stockton, California act as credible messengers to interrupt gun violence, mentor young people at the center of gun violence and sustain themselves while working for a community-based, firearm homicide reduction program called Advance Peace.
Read about the findings here.

Pilot testing the Lethality Assessment Program to reduce gun related intimate partner homicides in Los Angeles 
Jennifer Wagman, Ph.D., M.H.S.
UCLA, Jonathan and Karin Fielding School of Public Health 
Gun-related intimate partner homicides (IPH) are on the rise, nationally and in Los Angeles. This project aims to adapt and pilot the Lethality Assessment Program in four Los Angeles Police Department divisions and use findings to develop a full-scale study to evaluate LAP’s impact on reducing IPH in Los Angeles. 

Exposure to Family Violence in Adolescence on Firearm Carrying in Young Adulthood: Sex-Stratified Multilevel Analyses Using Longitudinal Data from the Los Angeles Family and Neighborhood Survey (LAFANS) 
Anita Raj, Kathryn Barker, Erika Rosete
UC San Diego, Center on Gender Equity and Health
To expand the understanding of the etiology of firearm-related intimate partner violence, we propose secondary data analysis on a large sample of Los Angeles parent-child dyads and neighborhoods to examine the link between family violence and neighborhood context in adolescence on gun carrying in young adulthood. 

Development, Implementation, and Evaluation of a Firearm-Safety Counseling Module for Medical Students
Gary N. Holland, M.D.
UCLA
Our project seeks to develop, implement, and evaluate an evidence-informed educational module designed to teach medical students how to counsel patients in the clinical setting about firearm-safety. 

EMS Data Modeling to Identify Patients at High Risk for Firearm-Facilitated Suicide 
Christopher Kahn, M.D., M.P.H., FAEMS 
UC San Diego
Investigators will analyze nearly one million EMS patient encounters to determine if risk factors can be identified that are associated with later EMS encounters involving firearm-facilitated suicide. If identified, these pilot data will be used to support additional studies focused on creating a model for proactively identifying these high-risk persons. 

Gun Safety: Starting the conversation after trauma 
Alana Beres, M.D., M.P.H. and Sarah Stokes, M.D.
UC Davis, Department of Surgery 
Safe gun storage is associated with decreased firearm injuries. At our institution families of children presenting after firearm injuries received gun safety counseling in less than 5% of cases. We aim to increase gun safety discussions for patients presenting after gunshot injuries by providing an educational program to trauma care providers. 

2019 Grantees

Survey of healthcare providers and Trainees on Firearm Violence Education 
Taylor Docter, M.D.
UC San Diego
Our project aims to investigate the current state of firearm violence education for medical professionals. We plan to survey California healthcare professionals to determine the amount and kind of training provided, the satisfaction with current training, interest in receiving additional training, and what barriers are seen to implementing this training. 

Predicting firearm suicide among emergency department patients: A statewide longitudinal study 
Sidra Goldman-Mellor, Ph.D.
UC Merced, Department of Public Health
This study will leverage linked emergency department and mortality data from California and recent innovations in machine learning to accomplish two important goals: (1) Quantify prospective firearm suicide rates among ED patients with key diagnostic and sociodemographic patterns, and (2) Generate predictive, interpretable models of individualized firearm suicide risk. Findings will provide benchmark data for healthcare systems implementing firearm suicide prevention plans and form the basis for a future clinical algorithm usable in ED practice. 
Read more about the findings here.

Overcoming the Great Gun Divide: Understanding the Application of Firearm Law and Direction for Future Law 
Nicole Sherman, Ph.D.
CSU Chico, Department of Political Science
The proposed project will analyze how gun owners adhere to gun laws in a rural Californian county. This research will also explore what additional gun regulations gun owners would be willing to have implemented as to represent an acceptable compromise between gun control and gun rights and the possibility of new regulations to reduce gun violence. The purpose of this project is to identify gaps in current law application/enforcement and to consider future gun policy. 

Fatal and Non-Fatal Use of Firearms by California Law Enforcement 
Matthew Thompson, Ph.D.
UC Davis, Department of Sociology
In California 45% of all police use of force incidents included an officer’s use of a firearm in 2016-2017. This project investigates agency characteristics and policies as explanations of fatal and non-fatal firearm use by law enforcement agencies. With California’s new use of force data, the state is ready to lead the country in understanding police use of firearms. Findings of this project will inform policies and community understanding of this social issue. 

The Landscape of Intimate Partner Violence Prevention Policy in Los Angeles 
Michael Rodriguez, M.D. and Deborah Glik, M.D.
UCLA
This project aims to conduct key informant interviews with professionals to understand the use and implementation of Domestic Violence Restraining Order (DVRO) firearm restrictions in Los Angeles, California. Perspectives from professionals across a range of sectors will provide insight into the challenges associated with DVRO firearm restrictions and ways to strengthen policy implementation. 
Read more about the findings here.