title: Rural youth violence: it is a public health concern!
abstract: Youth violence is a significant issue for public health because of the potential for long-term impacts on individuals, families and communities. Limited exposure to violence is seen as a component of healthy living. However, there is limited understanding of violence from a public health perspective within rural communities. Rural refers to those communities with a population less than 10,000 outside the main commuting zone of a large urban area. Population health approaches, including the social determinants of health, are well supported by public health officials. Generating information about rural youth violence from a Canadian perspective would add to our understanding of these social determinants while providing guidance for policy and program development. Current understandings of youth violence are limited to an urban, and oftentimes, American perspective. An ongoing two-phase Canadian study on rural youth violence included qualitative interviews with 52 youth and the completion of a questionnaire that had been developed from the qualitative responses. The questionnaire has been completed by a larger sample of rural youth. The findings generated from this ongoing study will be useful in linking violence with social factors that impact health and thereby guide population health programs and policies. In this way, the role of public health to develop policies and implement programs will be directly influenced by evidence while addressing an ongoing public health concern.
authors.affiliation: School of Health Sciences, University of Lethbridge, Lethbridge, AB. kulig@uleth.ca
authors.forename: Judith C
authors.initials: JC
authors.lastname: Kulig
authors.forename: Deana
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Nahachewsky
authors.forename: Barry L
authors.initials: BL
authors.lastname: Hall
authors.forename: Ruth Grant
authors.initials: RG
authors.lastname: Kalischuk
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000367:Age Factors; D002170:Canada / Q000453:epidemiology; D002648:Child; D005190:Family; D006801:Humans; D007407:Interviews as Topic; D007604:Juvenile Delinquency / Q000523:psychology / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D011634:Public Health / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D036301:Qualitative Research; D012111:Residence Characteristics; D012423:Rural Health / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D012940:Social Problems; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014754:Violence / Q000517:prevention & control / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*