Advancing Science to Prevent Firearm Violence in Communities: A Process for Harmonizing Studies to Develop Research...

Area of Science:

• Public Health
• Injury Prevention Science
• Community-Based Research

Background:

• The Community Firearm Violence Prevention Network (CFVP Network) aims to accelerate firearm injury prevention science.
• Existing research faced challenges due to data variability across projects.
• A need existed to standardize data collection and analysis for robust cross-project insights.

Purpose of the Study:

• To establish a harmonized data infrastructure across inaugural CFVP Network projects.
• To align study measures, assessment timelines, and data management processes.
• To enable cross-project analyses and address gaps in firearm injury prevention science.

Main Methods:

• A dedicated data harmonization workgroup was formed within the CFVP Network.
• Key study constructs, assessment timepoints, and data management protocols were aligned.
• Infrastructure for cross-project data collection, sharing, archiving, and analysis was developed.

Main Results:

• Two assessment timepoints (baseline and one-year post-implementation) were harmonized.
• Sixty constructs were aligned, including 31 identical standardized constructs.
• A foundation for novel cross-network analyses and future research was created.

Conclusions:

• The harmonized infrastructure facilitates robust cross-project analyses, accelerating firearm injury prevention science.
• The developed process can serve as a replicable model for future research networks.
• This initiative enhances the capacity for evidence-based strategies to prevent firearm violence, injury, and mortality.