Chronic community violence and adolescent peer group activity settings in Rio de Janeiro and Baltimore : a cross cultural comparison

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Hawaii at Manoa, 2004.Includes bibliographical references (leaves 144-158).Also available by subscription via World Wide Webxii, 158 leaves, bound ill. (one col.) 29 cmChronic community violence is common in urban areas and areas of conflict around the world. Children and adolescents in these areas experience similar traumatic events, however past research has only addressed the impact on family and individual youth. This dissertation explores the impact chronic community violence has on the adolescent peer group. Youth perceptions in Baltimore and Rio de Janeiro were studied to explore differences in peer attachment, peer influence, peer group activities, opportunities for pro-social community involvement, neighborhood resources and perceptions of neighborhood danger. Baltimore and Rio de Janeiro were chosen because they are similar in rates of chronic community violence and dissimilar in the composition of racial and ethnic groups. The results showed significant differences between geographical locations in perceptions of community danger. The findings also indicated that adolescents spend more time inside their own house than with their friends. Time with friends and consequently peer group influence are related to feelings of community danger. Prevention and intervention efforts need to assess perceptions of danger because crime statistics are not revealing enough. These results provide valuable insight to make the practical application of international prevention and intervention efforts more effective. Implications for service providers and policy are discussed

Towards More Nuanced Classification of NGOs and Their Services to Improve Integrated Planning across Disaster Phases

Nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) are being integrated into U.S. strategies to expand the services that are available during health security threats like disasters. Identifying better ways to classify NGOs and their services could optimize disaster planning. We surveyed NGOs about the types of services they provided during different disaster phases. Survey responses were used to categorize NGO services as core—critical to fulfilling their organizational mission—or adaptive—services implemented during a disaster based on community need. We also classified NGOs as being core or adaptive types of organizations by calculating the percentage of each NGO’s services classified as core. Service types classified as core were mainly social services, while adaptive service types were those typically relied upon during disasters (e.g., warehousing, food services, etc.). In total, 120 NGOs were classified as core organizations, meaning they mainly provided the same services across disaster phases, while 100 NGOs were adaptive organizations, meaning their services changed. Adaptive NGOs were eight times more likely to report routinely participating in disaster planning as compared to core NGOs. One reason for this association may be that adaptive NGOs are more aware of the changing needs in their communities across disaster phases because of their involvement in disaster planning

Assessment of the Content, Design, and Dissemination of the Real Warriors Campaign, Summary

The Real Warriors Campaign (RWC), launched in 2009, is a multimedia program designed to promote resilience, facilitate recovery, and support the reintegration of returning servicemembers, veterans, and their families. This report presents findings based upon an independent assessment of the campaign. It identifies which aspects of the campaign adhere to best practices for health communication campaigns and how the campaign could improve both its content and its dissemination activities. The assessment included an expert panel which identified best practices for health communication campaigns and rated the RWC according to those practices, telephone discussions with organizations that partnered with the campaign, a content analysis of the campaign's website, an analysis of communication measures collected by the campaign, and a review of relevant documents describing campaign design and development. Findings suggested that the RWC shows promise in its ability to reach its intended target audiences and achieve its goals, but needs to invest in mechanisms that allow it to be nimble, monitoring the needs of the target populations and adjusting the campaign activities to meet those needs

Beyond Disaster Preparedness: Building a Resilience-Oriented Workforce for the Future

Enhancing citizens’ and communities’ resilience is critical to adapt successfully to ongoing challenges faced by communities, as well as acute shocks resulting from disasters. While significant progress has been made in this area, several research and practice gaps remain. A crucial next step to advance resilience is the development of a resilience-oriented workforce. This narrative review examines existing literature to determine key components of a resilience-oriented workforce, with a focus on organizational structures, training and education, and leadership models. Reviewed articles spanned a variety of study types, including needs assessments of existing workforce, program evaluations, and reviews/commentaries. A resilience-oriented workforce spans many disciplines and training programs will need to reflect that. It requires a collaborative organizational model that promotes information sharing structures. Leadership models should foster a balance between workforce autonomy and operation as a collective entity. Optimal strategies to develop a resilience-oriented workforce have yet to be realized and future research will need to collect and synthesize data to promote and evaluate the growth of this field

Changes in Poison Center Calls for Intentional Exposure During Public Health Emergencies: COVID-19 and Winter Storm Uri in Dallas County, Texas

OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to: (1) explore changes in the volume of calls to poison control centers (PCs) for intentional exposures (IEs) in Dallas County, Texas, overall and by gender and age, and (2) examine the association between 2 different public health emergencies (PHEs) and changes in IE call volume. METHODS: PCs categorize calls they receive by intentionality of the exposure, based on information from the caller. We analyzed data on PC calls categorized as intentional in Dallas County, Texas, from March 2019 - April 2021. This period includes the COVID-19 pandemic declaration (March 2020), a surge in COVID-19 cases (July 2020), and Winter Storm Uri (February 2021). Changes in IE call volume (overall and by age and gender), were explored, and interrupted time series analysis was used to examine call volume changes after PHE onset. RESULTS: The summer surge in COVID-19 cases was associated with 1.9 additional IE calls/day (95% CI 0.7 to 3.1), in the context of a baseline unadjusted mean of 6.2 calls per day (unadjusted) before November 3, 2020. Neither the pandemic declaration nor Winter Storm Uri was significantly associated with changes in call volume. Women, on average, made 1.2 more calls per day compared to men during the study period. IE calls for youth increased after the pandemic declaration, closing the longstanding gap between adults and youth by early 2021. CONCLUSIONS: Changes in IE call volume in Dallas County varied by gender and age. Calls increased during the local COVID-19 surge. Population-level behavioral health may be associated with local crisis severity

National Evaluation of Safe Start Promising Approaches: Assessing Program Outcomes

Safe Start Promising Approaches (SSPA) is the second phase of a planned four-phase initiative focusing on preventing and reducing the impact of children’s exposure to violence (CEV). This project was supported by Grant Nos. 2005-JW-BX-0001 and 2009-IJ-CX-0072, awarded by the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP), Office of Justice Programs, U.S. Department of Justice. Points of view or opinions in this document are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official position or policies of the U.S. Department of Justice. The RAND Corporation conducted the national evaluation of the SSPA phase of the initiative in collaboration with the national evaluation team: OJJDP, the Safe Start Center, the Association for the Study and Development of Communities (ASDC), and the 15 program sites. The evaluation design involved three components: an outcomes evaluation; a process evaluation, including a cost analysis; and an evaluation of training. This document provides the results of the outcomes evaluation, supplemented from the previous version of this report after funding was made available to analyze additional data collected at four of the original 15 sites. In the main body of this report we provide information on the designs of the studies, instruments used, data collection and cleaning, analytic methods, and an overview of the results across the 15 sites. In the appendixes, we provide a detailed description of the outcome evaluation conducted at each SSPA program, including a description of the enrollees, enrollment and retention, the amount and type of services received, and child and family-level outcomes over time. These results will be of interest to researchers, clinicians, practitioners, policymakers, community leaders, and others interested in evaluating and implementing programs for children exposed to violence. This research was conducted under the auspices of the Safety and Justice Program within RAND Infrastructure, Safety, and Environment (ISE) and under RAND Health’s Health Promotion and Disease Prevention Program. The mission of RAND Infrastructure, Safety, and Environment is to improve the development, operation, use, and protection of society’s essential physical assets and natural resources and to enhance the related social assets of safety and security of individuals in transit and in their workplaces and communities. Safety and Justice Program research addresses occupational safety, transportation safety, food safety, and public safety—including violence, policing, corrections, substance abuse, and public integrity. Information about the Safety and Justice Program is available online (http://www.rand.org/ise/safety). RAND Health, a division within RAND, is one of the largest private health research groups in the world. The projects within RAND Health address a wide range of health care policy issues; the agenda emphasizes policy research that can improve the health of people around the world. This project was conducted within the RAND Health Promotion and Disease Prevention Program (HPDP). RAND HPDP addresses issues related to measuring healthy and unhealthy behaviors, examining the distribution of health behaviors across population subgroups, identifying what causes or influences such behaviors, and designing and evaluating interventions to improve health behaviors. A profile of the Health division, abstracts of its publications, and ordering information can be found at www.rand.org/health

Strengthening the response to disasters and trauma

Chapter 10 opens with the Gulf Research Program’s Lauren Alexander Augustine presenting four pilot programs from around the country that illustrate the cornerstones of community resilience. Next, Benjamin Springgate examines resilience as a reflection of individual communities and describes a research network that promotes research on resilience-strengthening practices. Lourdes J. Rodríguez and Sheila B. Savannah then explain how neighborhoods that are striving for resilience should be involved like patients in the process of healing. Finally, three contributors offer unique perspectives on resilient communities: Traci L. Birch looks at why resilience efforts should also focus on inland communities that are no longer immune to the impacts of climate change and extreme weather. And Joie B. Acosta and Elka Gotfryd encourage us to think broadly about resilience as they explore opportunities to build responsive social infrastructure through engaged citizen participation

National Evaluation of Safe Start Promising Approaches: Assessing Program Implementation

Children\u27s exposure to violence (CEV) — including direct child maltreatment, witnessing domestic violence, and witnessing community and school violence — can have serious consequences, including a variety of psychiatric disorders and behavioral problems, such as posttraumatic stress disorder, depression, and anxiety. Fortunately, research has shown that interventions for CEV can substantially improve children\u27s chances of future social and psychological well-being. Safe Start Promising Approaches (SSPA) was the second phase of a planned four-phase initiative focusing on preventing and reducing the impact of CEV, sponsored by the U.S. Department of Justice\u27s Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP). OJJDP selected 15 program sites across the country that proposed a range of intervention approaches, focused on multiple types of violence, included variations in ages and age-appropriate practices, and would be implemented in different settings. Each site participated in a national evaluation, conducted by the RAND Corporation. The evaluation design involved three components: a process evaluation, an evaluation of training, and an outcomes evaluation. This report presents the results of the first two evaluations. It describes the program and community settings, interventions, and implementations of the 15 SSPA programs for the first two years of implementation (through March 2009), as well as the training evaluation results