Violence: Policy, prevention and intervention

Efforts to prevent interpersonal violence leading to injury have focused on the population and the individual, but the problem continues to be a major cause of mortality and morbidity, as well as community disruption. The Virginia Tech shootings provide an example of how the interplay of various policy realms failed to prevent a tragedy from occurring. This presentation will focus on the relationship between policy strategies and violence prevention and intervention, and will highlight barriers to the development and implementation of policies that may be effective in decreasing interpersonal violence. The effect of policies on the community and individual will be considered.