Citation

Medina N, Fernández G, Cruz T, Jordán N, Trenche M. Prog. Community Health Partnersh. 2016; 10(2): 251-258.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2016, Johns Hopkins University Press)

DOI

10.1353/cpr.2016.0020

PMID

27346771

Abstract

BACKGROUND: School violence is a worldwide public health issue with negative effects on education. Official statistics and reports do not include daily occurrences of violent behavior that may precede severe incidents.

OBJECTIVES: This project aimed to engage school community members in the development, validation, and implementation of an observation instrument to identify characteristics of school violence in two Puerto Rican schools.

METHODS: The role of school community members in all phases of the research is described.

RESULTS: The input of community partners contributed to enrich the process by providing insight into the problem studied and a more informed framework for interpreting results.

CONCLUSIONS: Taking into account distinctive features of each particular school made results meaningful to the school community and fostered a sense of empowerment of community members as they recognized their knowledge is essential to the solution of their problems.

Language: en