Moving toward comprehensiveness and sustainability in a social ecological approach to youth violence prevention: lessons from the Asian/Pacific islander youth violence prevention center.
Youth violence is a serious public health problem affecting communities across the United States. The use of a social ecological approach has helped reduce its prevalence. However, those who have put the approach into practice often face challenges to effective implementation. Addressing social ecology in all its complexity presents one obstacle; the ability of private non-profit and public agencies to sustain such comprehensive efforts presents another. Here, we provide an example of our efforts to prevent youth violence. We worked with the Asian/Pacific Islander Youth Violence Prevention Center (APIYVPC) and two communities on O'ahu. We provide a case example from the Asian/Pacific Islander Youth Violence Prevention Center (APIYVPC) of our work, in collaboration with two communities on O;ahu, to develop and implement a youth violence prevention initiative that is becoming both comprehensive and sustainable. We illustrate the incremental nature of what it means to be comprehensive and we underscore the importance of reaching sustainability as the project unfolds.
Umemoto
Karen
K
Department of Urban and Regional Planning, University of Hawaii, Saunders Hall, 2424 Maile Way, Room 107, Honolulu, HI 96822, USA. kumemoto@hawaii.edu
Baker
Charlene K
CK
Helm
Susana
S
Miao
Tai-An
TA
Goebert
Deborah A
DA
Hishinuma
Earl S
ES
D000293:Adolescent; D001213:Asian / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D003153:Community Health Services / Q000458:organization & administration*; D005240:Feasibility Studies; D006801:Humans; D007604:Juvenile Delinquency / Q000208:ethnology* / Q000517:prevention & control*; D044468:Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D011314:Preventive Health Services / Q000458:organization & administration*; D016730:Program Development; D012931:Social Environment; D012944:Social Support; D014481:United States / Q000453:epidemiology; D014754:Violence / Q000208:ethnology* / Q000517:prevention & control*