Understanding the Incidence and Origins of Community Violence: Toward a Comprehensive Perspective of Violence Prevention (From Violence in Homes and Communities: Prevention, Intervention, and Treatment, P 101-132, 1999, Thomas P. Gullotta and Sandra J. McElhaney, eds. -- See NCJ-182594)

• NCJ Number: 182596
• Author(s): Lloyd B. Potter
• Date Published: 1999
• Length: 32 pages
• Sale Source: Sage Publications, Inc
• Publication Format: Book (Softbound)
• Publication Type: Issue Overview
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

This chapter considers community violence from a public health perspective focused on preventing injuries resulting from interpersonal violent behavior.

Abstract

The perspective entails four interrelated steps: defining the problem, identifying causes, developing and testing interventions and implementing effective interventions. The chapter discusses issues of taxonomy and an ecological framework for understanding causes of violent behavior and describes some interventions and efforts to evaluate them. It analyzes the process of implementation and dissemination of effective prevention strategies involving communication, diffusion of innovation and technology transfer. Actions to prevent violence might include: (1) investing in injury surveillance systems that will provide meaningful and timely information on the magnitude, circumstances, trends and affected populations; (2) further developing the taxonomy of violence and theoretical models in order to better understand the causes of and methods to prevent community violence; (3) using the results of surveillance and research to develop and test prevention programs; and (4) developing systems to rapidly and effectively disseminate information on violence prevention as interventions are produced. Figures, references