Violence Prevention: Local Public Health Perspective Carol Moehrle - - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

The National Connection for Local Public Health

Violence Prevention: Local Public Health Perspective

Carol Moehrle President National Association of County and City Health Officials November 17, 2010

Wednesday, November 17, 2010

Presentation Overview

• Violence prevention as an emerging local public health

priority

• Impact of violence on overall community health
• Challenges to local public health involvement in violence

prevention

• Making the case for local public health involvement in

violence prevention

• Current NACCHO Violence Prevention activities

Wednesday, November 17, 2010

Violence Prevention as an Emerging LHD Priority

• Violence prevention is an emerging priority for local health departments
• In 2008, 40% of LHDs reported conducting violence prevention efforts

locally1

• Facilitating factors: high profile local-level incidences of violence, increased

access to relevant data, knowledge of effective prevention practices, community-level prioritization

• Violence prevention mentioned as the top injury-related topic area that

LHDs would like to address (specifically youth violence prevention and suicide prevention) in a 2008 NACCHO survey of LHD IVP programs2

1. 2008 National Profile of Local Health Departments. NACCHO, July 2009. 2. NACCHO Research Brief: Local Health Department Injury and Violence Prevention Infrastructure and

• Activities. May 2008

Wednesday, November 17, 2010

Impact of Violence on Overall Community Health

• Violence is a public health issue that has a significant impact on health,

even outside of injury and violence concerns

• Chronic disease link: Safety concerns may impact physical activity by

reducing time spent being active outdoors

• Maternal and child health link: Exposure to violence in childhood, is

associated with a wide range of health related risk behaviors

• Mental health link: Exposure to violence leading to long lasting

psychological issues such as depression, anxiety and PTSD

Wednesday, November 17, 2010

Challenges to Local Public Health Involvement in Violence Prevention

7% 9% 9% 12% 13% 17% 18% 21% 25% 25% Emergency Preparedness Epidemiology & Surveillance Food Safety Communicable Disease Screening/Treatment Immunization Environmental Health Chronic Disease Screening/Treatment Clinical Health Services Maternal & Child Health Population-Based Primary Prevention

Local health department budget cuts and job losses are challenges impacting LHD involvement in violence prevention efforts

Percentage of LHDs with Program Cuts in 2009, by Program Area3

• 3. NACCHO Research Brief: Local Health

Department Job Losses and Program Cuts: Findings from January/February 2010 Survey. May 2010

Wednesday, November 17, 2010

Challenges to Local Public Health Involvement in Violence Prevention

• Public health has not traditionally been viewed as a partner in local efforts to

address violence

• Law enforcement and criminal justice strategies are used most often
• Not generally involved in local plans and strategies
• Securing funding and other necessary resources
• Gaining buy-in from leadership

Wednesday, November 17, 2010

Making the Case for LHD Involvement in Violence Prevention

• LHDs are uniquely positioned to participate in comprehensive, multidisciplinary

violence prevention efforts as they are charged with:

• Monitoring health status and understanding health issues facing the

community: LHDs can help to ensure that violence prevention efforts are data- driven

• Protecting communities from health problems and hazards
• Engaging the community to identify and solve health problems: LHDs have

used these skills to help mobilize communities around violence prevention

National Association of Count y and City Health Officials. 2005. Operational Definition of a Functional Local Health Department

Wednesday, November 17, 2010

Making the Case for LHD Involvement in Violence Prevention

LHDs are uniquely positioned to participate in comprehensive, multidisciplinary violence prevention efforts as they are charged with:

• Developing public health policies and plans: LHDs can work to advocate for

external, violence prevention legislative policies impacting communities

• Contributing to and applying the evidence base of public health: LHDs can

help to grow the evidence-base of violence prevention

• Evaluating and improving programs and interventions: LHDs can help to

evaluate the effectiveness of violence prevention efforts

• NACCHO. 2005. Operational Definition of a Functional Local Health Department

Wednesday, November 17, 2010

Making the Case for LHD Involvement in Violence Prevention: LHD Examples

• City of Minneapolis: Violence

Prevention Blueprint for Action A 4 point strategy to prevent youth violence in Minneapolis

• 40% decrease in juvenile crime in

focus neighborhoods since implementation

• http://www.ci.minneapolis.mn.us/yvp
• Multnomah County (OR) Health

Department : Early Childhood Services nurse home visiting program Goal: ensure women at risk for poor pregnancy outcomes have healthy pregnancies, and that infants and toddlers similarly at risk grow up healthy

Wednesday, November 17, 2010

Current NACCHO Violence Prevention Activities

• UNITY: UNITY provides a

comprehensive and sustainable public health approach to violence prevention.

(www.preventioninstitute.org/initiatives/u nity.html)

• Collaboration between the Prevention

Institute, Harvard School of Public Health and the Southern California Injury Prevention Research Center at UCLA SPH

• STRYVE: CDC’s national youth

violence prevention initiative. Provides communities with the knowledge and resources to be successful in preventing youth violence (www.safeyouth.org)

• Safe States Alliance Violence

Prevention Recommendations

• CDC Violence Prevention

Webinar Series NACCHO recognizes the importance of focusing on VP as way of improving community health and safety

Wednesday, November 17, 2010

NACCHO Resources & Contact Information

For questions contact: Tasha Akitobi Program Manager takitobi@naccho.org NACCHO Injury and Violence Prevention Resources

• NACCHO Research Brief: Local Health Department Injury

and Violence Prevention Infrastructure and Activities

• NACCHO Issue Brief: Intimate Partner Violence among

Pregnant and Parenting Women: Local Health Department Strategies for Assessment, Intervention, and Prevention

• 2008 National Profile of Local Health Departments
• NACCHO Research Brief: Local Health Department Job

Losses and Program Cuts: Findings from January/February 2010 Survey

• A Compendium of Local Health Department Home

Visitation Program Case Studies

• ASTHO-NACCHO-Safe States Alliance Injury and Violence

Prevention Webinar Series