Each day, one person dies from injury or violence every two minutes, totaling over 278,000 deaths annually.(1) These deaths account for more than $4.2 trillion(2) in medical care and lost productivity each year and represent only a small portion of the tremendous public health burden that preventable injuries and violence exert on individuals, families, communities and the healthcare system. Despite the existence of proven, cost-effective interventions to prevent injuries and violence, it has proven difficult reduce this incredible burden and to make a sustained, national-level impact.
Currently for Injury and Violence Prevention (IVP) programs there is limited capacity and resources across the Core Components of model state IVP programs in the foundational areas of: identifying, selecting, and implementing evidence-informed policy and program strategies to achieve the greatest health impact; conducting recommended surveillance of injuries and violence; conducting evaluation and communication activities to support evidence-informed strategies; and engaging in workforce development opportunities, particularly in the areas of program planning, policy, evaluation and partnership development and maintenance. These capacity limitations have long-existed but were exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic and related implications and stressors for public health professionals.(3)
Safe States, a membership organization comprised of over 700 public health IVP professionals representing all US states and territories, proposes to utilize its 30 years of experience in building IVP capacity in state health departments (SHD), local health departments (LHD), hospitals/healthcare organizations, community-based groups, and other settings, as well as its extensive national partnership networks to conduct strategies in four areas including: training and technical assistance; leadership of Regional Networking Coordinating Organizations; leadership and support for violence prevention partner meetings; and leadership and support for health equity and the Injury and Violence Prevention Network (IVPN) to advance IVP. The driving force behind the activities in this proposal is to advance the field of IVP through strategic strengthening of the IVP workforce and the capacity of IVP programs, as well as the systematic advancement of IVP priorities through a comprehensive national partner network. Through the strategies and activities described in this proposal, Safe States intends to achieve the following outcomes amongst funded and unfunded SHDs and LHDs:
• increased ability to identify and respond to emerging injury and violence threats;
• increased capacity to address DEBIA within their organization and communities served;
• increased access to resources and tools to improve the health of communities served;
• increased capacity to strengthen communities by increasing protective factors for injury and violence using best available evidence;
• increased ability to implement evidence-based programs; and
• increased ability for IVP partnerships to collaborate across various sectors.
Ultimately, these activities are expected to increase organizational capacity of CDC-funded and unfunded state, territorial, tribal, and LH departments, and Regional Network Coordinating Organizations IVP programs and staff, and lead to increased implementation of IVP policy and program strategies based on the best available evidence.
1. CDC. Web-based Injury Statistics Query and Reporting System [online] (3/3/23). https://wisqars.cdc.gov/reports
2. Peterson C, Miller GF, Barnett SB, Florence C. Economic Cost of Injury — United States, 2019. MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep 2021;70:1655–1659. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.15585/mmwr.mm7048a1
3. Safe States Alliance. (10/21). Crisis Amidst COVID-19: The State of Injury and Violence Prevention in Health Departments and Hospitals. https://cdn.ymaws.com/www.safestates.org/resource/resmgr/covid/Crisis_Amdist_COVID-19.pdf