A Randomized Control Trial of a Digital Health Tool

Lock to Live (L2L) is a web-based decision aid that incorporates patients' values into recommendations for safe storage of firearms and medications. This randomized trial evaluated whether sending population-based invitation messages to visit L2L through the Electronic Health Record (EHR) to patients treated in primary care and mental health specialty settings with elevated suicide risk, identified using a prediction model, impacted readiness to change firearm and medication storage behaviors. Patients were identified using previously validated suicide risk prediction models developed within the Mental Health Research Network (MHRN). These models are highly predictive of suicide attempt and death by suicide for both a 30-day and 90-day period. Patients in the 75-99.5th risk percentiles were randomized. Half were randomized to receive L2L+survey (intervention) and half received survey only (control). and control groups. Over 21,000 unique patients were enrolled over a 6-month period. Survey respondents were assigned to one of five groups based on readiness for change: pre-contemplative (do not believe in safe storage), contemplative (believe in safe storage but not doing it), thinking (considering changing storage), preparation (planning to change storage), or action (safely storing). Data will be analyzed using chi-square, logistic and multinomial logit models to test for differences between intervention and control groups.