Supportive Hospital-based Intervention for Firearm Trauma

The Supportive Hospital-based Intervention for Firearm Trauma (SHIFT) study is designed to test whether a hospital-based violence intervention program can reduce risk of subsequent violent injury.

E2E Participants sit on steps in the Broadmoor Arts & Wellness Center.

Launched in 2022, SHIFT is one of two research projects at the Tulane Center for Youth Equity, a CDC-funded Youth Violence Prevention Center. In partnership with University Medical Center (UMC), SHIFT engages young people ages 16–24 who have been treated for gunshot wounds, stab wounds, or assault-related blunt force trauma injuries and reside in Louisiana.  The violence-prevention program within SHIFT attempts to leverage the traumatic event for personal growth by providing counseling, motivational interviewing (MI), and connections to community resources to assist participants in reducing risk for violent re-injury. 

Intervention Experience

A licensed clinical social worker provides participants with a case management intervention that utilizes Motivational Interviewing strategies in its delivery and is designed to promote adoption of healthy behaviors within the context of preventing violence.  The social worker conducts an assessment that is concerned with identifying domains that increase risk for violent re-injury and then works collaboratively with the participant to those risk domains that the client seeks to address. Monthly sessions are designed to address barriers to change and to motivate the attainment of higher levels of personal and environmental health. Imbedded within the sessions are the provision of a firearm safety lockbox and basic firearm safety training. 

Participants of VPI's E2E program listen to guest speakers
Participants of the Organize and Mobilize program receive individual mentoring.

Participant Demographics

  • Gender
    • 84% Male, 16% Female
  • Race / Ethnicity
    • 86% Black
    • 7% White
    • 5% Multiracial
    • 2% Hispanic

Public Health Impact

The SHIFT study addresses firearm violence as a pressing public health crisis by intervening at a uniquely vulnerable time—immediately after a firearm-related injury. This approach recognizes that hospitalization is not only a moment of physical healing but also an opportunity for meaningful behavioral change and prevention. 

By integrating motivational interviewing, social work support, and firearm safety training into clinical care, SHIFT works to reduce the cycle of violent injury and re-injury that disproportionately affects young people in New Orleans. Providing participants with safe firearm storage options, access to victim reparations, and connection to critical social support, such as housing and employment assistance, addresses the structural and environmental factors that contribute to violence risk. 

The impact of SHIFT extends beyond individual participants. Findings from the study will:

  • Advance hospital-based violence intervention models by demonstrating the effectiveness of integrating motivational interviewing and firearm safety into trauma care.
  • Contribute to policy and systems change, offering evidence that hospitals can play a central role in firearm violence prevention strategies.
  • Influence community norms by helping youth reconsider beliefs around firearm carriage, use, and storage. 

Address

1440 Canal Street, Suite 1510, New Orleans, LA 70112

Email

vpi@tulane.edu

social media

@tulanevpi

Newsletter