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Abstract
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VioLit summary:
OBJECTIVE:
The aim of this commentary by Edelman and Satcher was to discuss violence prevention from a public health perspective.
METHODOLOGY:
A nonexperimental discussion was employed for this article.
FINDINGS/DISCUSSION:
The authors argued that violence was a public health problem whereby, resulted in making violence prevention a priority in public health. They advocated the public health approach because it includes looking at patterns, risk factors, and causes; designing and evaluating interventions; and putting effective programs in place. Moreover, the approach addresses various social and economic forces that are important causes of violence including poverty, lack of opportunity for education and jobs, and discrimination. They also suggested that our depiction of violence in the media and our proliferation of firearms contributed to the problem of violence. They emphasized that one of the goals of this approach was to change some of the socioeconomic conditions underlying the problem of violence.
Research and action were also addressed. The public health approach asserts that prevention must be conducted systematically and scientifically. Possible action strategies included: 1) to provide young people with life skills and job training that would prepare them for a productive place in society as adults, 2) enacting and enforcing regulations that would restrict the use of alcohol and firearms among youth, and 3) to work to improve the physical and social environments of young people so that violent acts would be less likely to occur around them. The approach also emphasized evaluation and the continual adaptation of the strategy based on what was learned.
Priorities of the Clinton administration were also included in the article. The priorities included services such as education in conflict resolution skills, enrichment programs to enhance the understanding and appreciation of positive influences, job skills training, recreational programs and mentoring. The authors suggested that one of the most important things the administration could do would be to instill hope in young people. They argued that hopelessness was at the base of many problems, such as violence, substance abuse, teenage pregnancy, and early school dropout.
The authors also addressed the two main criticisms of the public health approach to violence prevention. The first criticism contended that the problem of violence should be addressed by solutions limited to stronger law enforcement. The second criticism argued that calling violence a public health problem would be a form of blaming the victim because violence has been viewed as a product of social discrimination, racism, and poverty. They countered the arguments by stating that they could monitor the problem of violence, conduct research to analyze factors that lead to its occurrence, concentrate resources where needed, and evaluate the various forms of intervention.
(CSPV Abstract - Copyright © 1992-2007 by the Center for the Study and Prevention of Violence, Institute of Behavioral Science, Regents of the University of Colorado)
Violence Prevention
Public Health Approach
Violence Risk Factors
Violence Causes
Sociocultural Factors
Socioeconomic Factors
Research Recommendations
Prevention Recommendations
Poverty
Employment Factors
Discrimination
Adult Violence
Juvenile Violence
Language: en |