NCJ Number
225405
Journal
Violence Against Women Volume: 15 Issue: 1 Dated: January 2009 Pages: 44-56
Date Published
January 2009
Length
13 pages
Annotation
Since many practitioners in domestic violence and sexual assault programs have not been trained in prevention concepts and strategies, this article reports on a needs assessment in the Domestic Violence Prevention Enhancement and Leadership Through Alliances (DELTA) and the Rape Prevention and Education (RPE) programs in order to determine their training needs.
Abstract
The needs assessment found that practitioners who worked in the field of domestic violence and sexual assault welcomed the opportunity to learn more about primary prevention issues and how they could be incorporated into their work. They wanted a better understanding of the concept of violence prevention and how to design, implement, and evaluate primary violence prevention activities. They were also receptive to various modes of training; however, they also reported many barriers to prevention training, such as lack of funding and inability to travel. In the context of these findings, the PREVENT training program was designed to address the needs of these practitioners while overcoming barriers to training. The PREVENT training program includes seminars on the public health concept of primary violence prevention and what it means to participate in social change work at the community or population level. In addition, information is provided on promising violence prevention models, how to obtain data and use research in their own work, and how to plan and evaluate their own programs. Information is also presented on the dissemination of programs to policymakers and other key stakeholders. The needs assessment methodology included a document review, key informant interviews, and several focus groups via telephone conference calls. Twenty persons participated in the focus groups, representing 19 of the 41 programs by DELTA and RPE. 2 tables and 18 references