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Project GRIP

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Gun-Related Injury Prevention Federal Grant Project

University of South Alabama faculty researchers have received a $1.8 million federal grant to collaborate with gun owners in devising strategies to reduce injury and death. The grant from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention will fund the three-year project to address gun-related suicides and homicides. The project is in collaboration with Virginia Commonwealth University.  While much of the national discussion centers on access to firearms, the approach by Assistant Professor Dr. Krista Mehari and Professor Dr. Phillip Smith will focus on better understanding the perspective of people who possess and own guns to improve public health strategies. The initial research will focus on the South Alabama region. Project GRIP team will work to better understand people’s reactions to existing gun injury prevention strategies, as well as beliefs about the most effective ways to reduce intentional gun injuries. This data will be shared to inform public health approaches to injury prevention.

Click here to learn more about the mission of Project GRIP. 

Advisory Boards

The Project GRIP research team will establish a Gun Owner Advisory Board and a Community Advisory Board. The Gun Owner Advisory Board will be consist of people who are members of the gun-owning community, including people who use guns for sport, hunting, and self-defense. The Community Advisory Board will consist of people who are or have been members of communities in which gun violence and community violence is a problem. 

Community Research Assistants

The Project GRIP research team is looking to hire community research assistants who have experience as a gun owner or have lived in communities impacted by gun violence. The community research assistants will help recruit participants, develop interview questions, conduct interviews and interpret data.


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Gun Owner
Advisory Board
Is gun ownership important to you? Do you think that gun-related injuries, like suicides and accidents, are preventable? Do you have opinions about how gun-related injury could be prevented in ways that do not infringe on Americans’ rights? If you answered YES to any of the questions, we want you!
People

Community
Advisory Board

Is there gun violence in your community? Have you carried a gun because you were worried about your safety? Have you been a victim of gun violence or are you close to someone who was injured by a gun? If you answered YES to any of the questions, we want you!
Computer
Community Research Assistants
Project GRIP is looking to hire research assistants who have experience as a gun owner or have lived in communities impacted by gun violence. The community research assistants will help to recruit participants, develop interview questions, conduct interviews and interpret data. Apply now!

 

Questions?

Contact us at projectgrip@southalabama.edu.