141st APHA Annual Meeting

In This section

287504
Violence interruption: Understanding the causes, characteristics, and outcomes of potentially lethal neighborhood conflicts

Tuesday, November 5, 2013

Tina Johnson, MA , School of Public Health, Cure Violence, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, IL
Elise Wisnieski, MA , School of Public Health, Cure Violence, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, IL
Dan Cantillon, PhD , School of Public Health, Cure Violence, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, IL
Tio Hardiman, MA , CeaseFire Illinois, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, IL
Gary Slutkin, MD , Cure Violence, Chicago, IL
Utilizing a public health and disease control approach to violence, Cure Violence (CV), formerly known as Chicago CeaseFire, has been found to be effective in reducing violence by three independent evaluations in different U.S. cities, including Chicago, New York, and Baltimore (Skogan, Hartnett, Bump, & Dubois, 2008; Webster, Whitehill, Vernick, & Parker, 2012; Picard-Fritsche & Cerniglia, 2013). As a program, CV has adapted over the years to address the specific elements associated with neighborhood violence. For instance, in 2004, CV introduced workers specifically tasked with identifying and resolving neighborhood conflicts (violence interrupters). A recent evaluation found that this element of the CV model may differentiate effective programs from others; specifically, an evaluation of Baltimore's program found that sites with significant reductions in homicides had three times as many conflict mediations per month than less successful sites (Webster et al., 2012). To date, there has been scant research on the dynamics surrounding neighborhood conflicts. Given the majority of shootings and homicides occur in urban neighborhoods, a better understanding of the causes and dynamics of such conflicts can lead to more effective violence prevention efforts. We will discuss data collected on conflict mediations from fourteen different neighborhood CV sites, including: • Characteristics associated with neighborhood conflict (e.g., severity, risk factors, role of drugs and alcohol, number of individuals) • What are the causes of neighborhood conflict (e.g., domestic, interpersonal, gang) • Strategies used by community health workers (e.g., constructive shadowing, middle man) • Outcomes of initial mediations and follow-up with parties involved

Learning Areas:
Conduct evaluation related to programs, research, and other areas of practice
Epidemiology
Implementation of health education strategies, interventions and programs
Public health or related research
Social and behavioral sciences

Learning Objectives:
Identify characteristics associated with neighborhood conflict (e.g., severity of conflict, risk factors, role of drugs and alcohol) Name causes of neighborhood conflict Describe strategies used by community health workers Discuss outcomes of initial mediations and follow-up activities

Keywords: Youth Violence, Public Health Research

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: Tina Johnson is a Senior Research Specialist at CureViolence and has been working for the organization for three years. She is involved in various evaluation and research tasks relating to conflict mediation and changing community norms and attitudes toward violence. She is also working toward her PhD in Criminology with a focus on violence studies.
Any relevant financial relationships? No

I agree to comply with the American Public Health Association Conflict of Interest and Commercial Support Guidelines, and to disclose to the participants any off-label or experimental uses of a commercial product or service discussed in my presentation.