Lock and Protect: Reducing Adolescent Access to Lethal Means of Suicide

Launched by COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY · Aug 6, 2025

Keywords

ClinConnect Summary

This clinical trial is looking at a new safety tool called "Lock and Protect," designed to help families reduce access to things like guns and medications that could be used in a suicide attempt by teens. The study wants to see if this tool is easy to use and accepted by parents and caregivers. Researchers will also explore if using Lock and Protect can help families improve how they store firearms and medicines at home, and if it makes parents feel more confident in keeping their teens safe. To do this, they will talk with caregivers to understand any challenges or concerns about using the tool, which will help make it better for future use in emergency rooms.

Families might be eligible if they have a teen between 13 and 17 years old who comes to the emergency room because of suicidal thoughts, suicide attempts, or self-harm without suicidal intent. Both the teen and their caregiver need to agree to take part. Teens who are medically unstable or have certain conditions like autism, intellectual disabilities, or active psychosis are not eligible, and both caregiver and teen must speak English or Spanish. If eligible, participants can expect to discuss their experiences using Lock and Protect and share feedback about how it affects safety at home. This study aims to make it easier to protect teens during a difficult time by helping families secure dangerous items in the home.

Gender

ALL

Eligibility criteria

• • Inclusion Criteria: (Both caregiver and patient must agree to participation to be eligible)
• • Parents or caregivers of adolescents aged 13-17 years presenting to the ED for suicidal thoughts and/or behaviors or non-suicidal self-injury as defined by presenting complaint or initial provider assessment.
• • Patients ages 13-17 years-old presenting to the ED for non-suicidal self-injury (NSSI), suicidal thoughts and behaviors
• Exclusion Criteria:
• • Medically unstable children
• • Patients with autism, intellectual disability, or active psychosis
• • Lack of parental and/or youth English and/or Spanish fluency
• • Caregivers who do not reside in the same home as the patient for at least 2 nights a week
• • If the caregiver OR patient does not agree to participation both participants will be excluded