Back to Annual Meeting Page		American Public Health Association 133rd Annual Meeting & Exposition December 10-14, 2005 Philadelphia, PA

Abstract #109582

Fran Scott, MD, MSc, FRCPC, Planning and Policy, Toronto Public Health, 277 Victoria St., 5th Floor, Toronto, ON M5B 1W2, Canada, 416-392-7463, fscott@toronto.ca

The WHO World Report on Violence and Health identifies physical punishment as a violent act that kills and injures thousands of children each year and contributes to other problems in childhood and later life, including violent behavior. A meta-analysis of the research literature (Gershoff, 2002) found strong evidence that it places children at physical and developmental risk. Ending this harmful, yet normative, practice is essential to protecting children's well being and human rights.

Public education, in concert with other strategies, can create a cultural shift away from hitting children. In Europe, where there is evidence of this shift, public education often coupled with legislative change and family programming have taken place.

This presentation will focus on a compelling multi-media communication campaign mounted by Toronto Public Health, the 5th largest health unit in North America. The campaign promotes positive discipline and raises awareness about the risks of physical punishment. The presentation will discuss the following: a) prevalence of physical punishment and evidence of its harm and ineffectiveness; b) communication objectives; c) development of the campaign message; d) campaign components; e) social and legal context of the campaign; f) campaign outcomes; and g) complementary health promotion strategies.

The World Report on Violence and Health calls for allocating public health resources to violence prevention. This presentation will inspire others concerned with children's health and violence prevention to put research evidence into practice and work to end the outdated practice of physical punishment – a stepping stone to creating a more peaceful society.

Learning Objectives: At the conclusion of the session, the participant will be able to

• Identify the physical and socio-emotional risks of physical punishment for children.
• Discuss the social and legal factors that affect public tolerance for physical punishment.
• Create a health communication campaign plan on the harms of physical punishment and alternative discipline methods.
• Describe complementary health promotion strategies for reducing the use of physical punishment.

Keywords: Family Violence, Child Health

Related Web page: www.toronto.ca/health/children

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

I wish to disclose that I have NO financial interests or other relationship with the manufactures of commercial products, suppliers of commercial services or commercial supporters.