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Injury and Violence Prevention
Title V programs can support activities including direct health care; enabling services; population-based services and infrastructure building. The Federal Block Grant requires State MCH programs to report on 18 national performance measures, two of which directly address injuries.
Performance # 10 - The rate of deaths to children aged 14 years and younger caused by motor vehicle crashes per 100,000 children.
Performance # 16 - The rate (per 100,00) of suicide deaths among youths age 15 through 19.
State MCH agencies use a variety of strategies to address their injury and violence Performance Measures. Some examples of these strategies include:
- Training school nurses to provide infant and child safety seats to families with low incomes
- Supporting local efforts to provide infant and child safety seats to families with low incomes
- Sponsoring child abuse prevention training for home visiting program staff
- Providing domestic violence prevention resources and training for health department staff directly serving women nd families
- Promoting policies for the use of bicycle helmets, personal floatation devices and booster safety seats
- Training school nurses about ways to modify the social environment to reduce bullying and violence
Intimate Partner Violence
According to the U.S. Department of Justice, intimate partner violence (IPV) in the U.S. declined from 1993 to 2004, following the trends for all violent crimes. Although this decline is encouraging, the problem remains significant; it is estimated that between 3 and 5.3 million women in America are physically abused by their husband or boyfriend per year.1,2 For many women it is deadly: on average, more than three women are murdered by their husbands or boyfriends in the United States every day. In 2000, 1,247 women in America were killed by an intimate partner. It is estimated that 50 percent of men who frequently assault their wives also assault their children. Slightly more than half of female victims of IPV live in households with children under the age of twelve, and more than three million children witness some form of IPV annually.3
In addition to the immediate physical trauma caused by abuse, IPV contributes to a number of chronic health care problems: depression, alcohol and substance abuse, sexually transmitted diseases, anxiety, suicidal thoughts or suicide, low self esteem, lack of trust and/or healthy attachment, violent and/or antisocial behavior, and others. It can also limit a woman’s ability to manage chronic illnesses such as diabetes and hypertension.
Projects
Safe Families Initiative
Although the United States is one of the most medically and economically advantaged countries in the world, American women suffer unexpectedly high rates of death, illness and injury during pregnancy and after childbirth. As part of a cooperative agreement with the CDC's Division of Reproductive Health, AMCHP is working to increase awareness and action around health and safety for women during pregnancy and motherhood.
This collaboration with the Family Violence Prevention Fund (FVPF) aims to provide technical assistance to state-level MCH professionals and their community partners to enhance their ability to integrate family violence assessment and prevention activities into state-level safe motherhood initiatives. In October 2006, teams from four states— Massachusetts, Maine, Missouri and New Mexico—participated in an AMCHP/FVPF-sponsored Safe Families Action Learning Lab. The teams receive technical assistance via informational calls, mini-grants and site visits. The teams will reconvene in fall 2008 to assess their progress, share lessons learned and engage in long-term strategic planning for systems-level changes. Several of the state teams are focusing on training providers to use universal screening methods for domestic violence and accurate referral techniques. One of the teams will hold a focus group of survivors to ensure that their processes and products effectively and appropriately address the survivors’ needs. The state team projects will work to foster awareness and develop and disseminate resources to both the providers and survivors.
To further this work, AMCHP remains a member of the White Ribbon Alliance National Campaign for Safe Motherhood that is working to raise awareness of these important issues among the public and policymakers. In addition, we continue to support the Safe Motherhood Partnership a collaboration with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and HRSA's Maternal and Child Health Bureau, with assistance from the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists to provide materials and opportunities to state MCH leaders, health care providers and others that will help reduce maternal illness, injury and death.
Activities
Products
Other Resources
- Children's Safety Network - a resource center for maternal and child health and injury prevention professionals in State and Territorial health departments who are committed to reducing injuries and violence among children and adolescents. CSN staff can offer expertise, resources, and contacts on any injury topic and can help you develop, implement, and evaluate injury and violence prevention activities.
CSN can help state MCH agencies address MCH Performance Measures related to injuries and violence. For more information on CSN services related to MCH Performance Measure. For more information, click here.
- Stop Bullying Now Campaign - In March 2004, Secretary Tommy G. Thompson announced a new campaign to educate more Americans about how to prevent bullying and youth violence -- behaviors that can have tremendous negative impact on children's success in school and overall well-being.
The campaign -- "Take A Stand. Lend A Hand. Stop Bullying Now!" -- is designed to stop bullying, including verbal or physical harassment that occurs repeatedly over time, that is intended to cause harm, and that involves an imbalance of power between the child who bullies and the child who is bullied. Among boys, bullying typically involves pushing, shoving, and other forms of physical intimidation. Girls tend to bully through gossiping, social exclusion, and verbal teasing, but boys frequently engage in these forms of bullying as well.
The campaign was developed by HHS' Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) in partnership with more than 70 health, safety, education and faith-based organizations. In addition, a Youth Expert Panel comprised of 18 9- through 13-year-olds provided creative direction during the development of the campaign.
- CDC - Safe Motherhood: Promoting Health for Women Before, During, and After Pregnancy 2004
- CDC - Pregnancy Related Death and Maternal Mortality Research
- CDC - Pregnancy Related Morbidity Research
- HRSA-MCHB - Women's Health USA 2003
- American College of Nurse Midwives
- American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists
- Family Violence Prevention Fund
- IAG Safe Motherhood Initiative
- Postpartum Support International
- SAFERMaternity.org
- White Ribbon Alliance
Last Updated
February 12, 2008
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