2015 APHA Annual Meeting & Expo

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339114
Exploring the ways of exposure to violence


Tuesday, November 3, 2015 : 11:10 a.m. - 11:30 a.m.

Gary Slutkin, MD, University of Illlinois at Chicago School of Public Health, Cure Violence, Chicago, IL
           
Audio (mp3) recording Recorded Presentation (mp4)
The current and widespread public outcry plaguing our cities one after another requires an immediate response and offers a unique opportunity for the health sector to unite and to do much more to reverse the epidemic of serious violence (predominantly shootings and stabbings) and its enormous effects on communities. Within the last ten years, many studies have shown that violence (of all forms) shares the characteristics of epidemics. This presentation will examine the transmission process for violence to explain how violence affects individuals who are exposed to it. Based on these findings, we will take the position that violence should be considered a type of epidemic disease and the approach to controlling and preventing the spread of violence must be that of a health approach.

We will start by describing the method of transmission, exploring the ways in which people are exposed to violence, the effects of different kinds of exposure, and modulating factors such as age, dose, and immunity.  We will then discuss the Cure Violence Model as an evidence-based epidemic control model for violence prevention, specifically gun violence prevention, which has been implemented successfully in dozens of communities around the world.  We will also explain the steps of the process for implementing the model, including learning the model, building coalitions, choosing program sites, finding funding, identifying implementation partners, and overcoming common challenges.  The take home point of the presentation will describe how the Cure Violence model as we know it is evolving as it sees the need for the health sector’s increased involvement in the prevention and control of the contagious disease.

We will conclude with a discussion of the implications for this understanding of violence, including strategies for addressing violence as a disease by reforming the health system.  This discussion will include roles for health professionals in how to detect and treat persons exposed to violence; steps for communities to take to treat violence as a disease; and examples of current health approaches that treat violence as a health issue.

Learning Areas:

Epidemiology
Implementation of health education strategies, interventions and programs

Learning Objectives:
Explain how violence is a contagious disease that can be prevented using a health approach Discuss the next steps needed to create a safe environment for all people Protection of the public in relation to violence / injury prevention and control

Keyword(s): Violence & Injury Prevention

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: I’m a physician, epidemiologist, infectious disease control specialist and Founder/ Executive Director of Cure Violence. I’ve applied lessons learned from more than a decade fighting epidemics in Africa and Asia to the creation of a health model to reduce violence through behavior change and disease control methods. I’m a Professor of Epidemiology and International Health at the University of Illinois at Chicago.
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.

Back to: 4100.0: The Tipping Point: Activating a Public Health Movement to Address Gun Violence