NCJ Number
198510
Journal
Pfizer Journal Volume: 11 Issue: 1 Dated: 2001 Pages: 4-10
Editor(s)
Salvatore J. Giorgianni
Date Published
2001
Length
7 pages
Annotation
This article explains how public health methods can be used to prevent and mitigate the health threat of violence throughout the world.
Abstract
If used as a disciplined approach, the public health strategy can provide a useful framework for defining violence, measuring its magnitude, and observing trends, as well as identifying factors that can be addressed to prevent violence. Under the public health model, a threat to health is approached in four steps. The first step is surveillance, in which epidemiologists attempt to answer questions regarding who, what, where, when, how, and how much in terms of violence. The second step is risk-factor research, which examines the root causes, the perpetrators, and the victims in an attempt to identify the factors that either promote or decrease violence. The third step is intervention evaluation, in which interventions are conceived and tested to explore potential solutions. The fourth step is program implementation. In this step, a potentially successful strategy has been identified and research findings are disseminated quickly and effectively, so that others can begin to apply it in various communities. This public health approach looks beyond the immediate effects of violence to identify the various causes and circumstances of violence. It also provides neutral common ground in the approach to violence while being proactive and multidisciplinary. Viewing violence as a public health problem will also reduce the stigma of being a victim of violence. Further, the public health approach will produce essential data for policymakers, will analyze trends over generations, and can address the root causes of war. Although some policymakers and citizens view violence as solely a criminal justice issue, the solution to violence will not be found in either public health or law enforcement alone. Public health systems must work in cooperation with other disciplines to address the causes of violence through a variety of strategies.