title: A Comprehensive Prevention Approach to Reducing Assault Offenses and Assault Injuries among Youth.
abstract: Since 2011, the CDC-funded Michigan Youth Violence Prevention Center (MI-YVPC), working with community partners, has implemented a comprehensive prevention approach to reducing youth violence in Flint, MI, based on public health principles. MI-YVPC employed an intervention strategy that capitalizes on existing community resources and application of evidence-based programs using a social-ecological approach to change. We evaluated the combined effect of six programs in reducing assaults and injury among 10-24 year olds in the intervention area relative to a matched comparison community. We used generalized linear mixed models to examine change in the intervention area counts of reported assault offenses and assault injury presentation relative to the comparison area over a period 6 years prior- and 30 months post-intervention. Results indicated that youth victimization and assault injuries fell in the intervention area subsequent to the initiation of the interventions and that these reductions were sustained over time. Our evaluation demonstrated that a comprehensive multi-level approach can be effective for reducing youth violence and injury.
authors.affiliation: Department of Health Behavior and Health Education, University of Michigan School of Public Health, 1415 Washington Heights, SPHI, Rm 3703, Ann Arbor, MI, 48109-2029, USA. jheinze@umich.edu.
authors.forename: Justin E
authors.initials: JE
authors.lastname: Heinze
authors.affiliation: University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, USA.
authors.forename: Thomas M
authors.initials: TM
authors.lastname: Reischl
authors.affiliation: University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, USA.
authors.forename: Mengqiao
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Bai
authors.affiliation: University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, USA.
authors.forename: Jessica S
authors.initials: JS
authors.lastname: Roche
authors.affiliation: University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, USA.
authors.forename: Susan
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Morrel-Samuels
authors.affiliation: University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, USA.
authors.forename: Rebecca M
authors.initials: RM
authors.lastname: Cunningham
authors.affiliation: University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, USA.
authors.forename: Marc A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Zimmerman
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D002648:Child; D005260:Female; D006293:Health Promotion / Q000458:organization & administration*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008824:Michigan; D016012:Poisson Distribution; D014754:Violence / Q000517:prevention & control*; D014947:Wounds and Injuries / Q000517:prevention & control*; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: Adolescence; Community empowerment; Injury prevention; Violence prevention