Sharing Session Recap: Setting Standards to Advance Injury and Violence Prevention in LHDs
Setting Standards to Advance Injury and Violence Prevention in Local Health Departments
12:30–3:30 PM
Given the public health burden of injuries and violence, LHDs play a critical role in protecting and improving community safety in coordination and collaboration with local, state, and national efforts. Recognizing this, NACCHO, along with partner organization, Safe States Alliance (SSA), and a hardworking group of LHD representatives, created a tool to help LHD IVP programs review current efforts and identify potential areas for strengthening programs and for future program growth.
This pre-conference session publically launched the “Standards for Local Health Department Injury and Violence Prevention Programs (S& I)” tool. The tool describes the components of a model LHD injury and violence prevention (IVP) program, and provides indicators of each component, along with potential methods of documentation. Today’s session served to launch the tool, share experiences from LHDs piloting the tool, and provide a forum for participants to discuss ways that they could envision using this tool to strengthen their programs and ways that NACCHO and SSA can support this process.
Vince Caraffi, Supervisor of the Cuyahoga County (OH) Board of Health; Paula Carden, Health Director of the Jackson County (NC) Department of Health; and Kevin Condra, Injury Prevention Program Manager of the Salt Lake City County (UT) Health Department shared the successes and challenges that they have experienced while piloting the tool. Vince described his experience as one that provided his community with an opportunity to take inventory of and share tools and resources. Kevin spoke of the need to coordinate use of this tool with state-level assessments, to ensure that the work of one is complimenting that of the other.
The session closed with facilitated small-group discussions, which gave participants an opportunity to provide feedback on the S&I tool, brainstorm ways that this tool could be used by LHDs, and the types of support that would be necessary. The group was concerned about taking on another initiative amidst budget cuts and workforce shortages, but excited about a tool that will provide national level recommendations, encourage partnerships, and strengthen their programs.
