文章基本信息

标题：Core Competencies for Injury and Violence Prevention
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作者：Thomas Songer ; Shelli Stephens-Stidham ; Corinne Peek-Asa 等
期刊名称：American journal of public health
印刷版ISSN：0090-0036
出版年度：2009
卷号：99
期号：4
页码：600-606
DOI：10.2105/AJPH.2008.137331
语种：English
出版社：American Public Health Association
摘要：Efforts to reduce the burden of injury and violence require a workforce that is knowledgeable and skilled in prevention. However, there has been no systematic process to ensure that professionals possess the necessary competencies. To address this deficiency, we developed a set of core competencies for public health practitioners in injury and violence prevention programs. The core competencies address domains including public health significance, data, the design and implementation of prevention activities, evaluation, program management, communication, stimulating change, and continuing education. Specific learning objectives establish goals for training in each domain. The competencies assist in efforts to reduce the burden of injury and violence and can provide benchmarks against which to assess progress in professional capacity for injury and violence prevention. INJURY AND VIOLENCE REMAIN significant public health issues. Road traffic crashes, homicides, and suicides are consistently among the leading causes of death in the United States, particularly for those aged 1 to 44 years.^{1 , 2} Unintentional injuries and violence account for the largest proportion (18.5%) of years of potential life lost before age 65 years.¹ Nonfatal traumatic injuries and violence, including youth and family violence, also have serious short- and long-term physical, psychological, and emotional consequences at the individual, family, and community levels.³ For the year 2000, the economic impact of injuries in the United States was estimated at $406 billion.⁴ Current efforts to reduce the burden of injury and violence are often viewed as inadequate. Collectively, injury and violence prevention efforts in health departments are low in scale and resources compared with activities to reduce the major chronic and infectious diseases. One factor underlying this observation is the now well-recognized lack of infrastructure for injury and violence prevention in public health practice. Three major reports over the past 2 decades have pointed to this poor infrastructure and the need to train a workforce for effective efforts in reducing injuries and violence.^{5 – 7} Several projects that pertain to workforce training recently have begun. The Advisory Committee on Injury Prevention and Control Working Group on Injury Control and Infrastructure Enhancement, for example, has identified a set of recommendations for strengthening the field.⁸ Several core competency sets have also been developed to promote training and development in specific fields of injury and violence prevention, including highway safety,⁹ youth violence in emergency department settings,¹⁰ construction work zone safety,¹¹ and safety of health care professionals from patient violence.¹² Nine hundred individuals have also received core instruction in violence prevention as part of the Prevent Violence Through Education, Networking, and Technical Assistance (PREVENT) program.¹³ These training efforts, though, are reaching and affecting public health professionals involved in violence and injury prevention in a fragmented fashion. No systematic process yet exists to address the needs of these professionals. The State and Territorial Injury Prevention Directors Association (STIPDA) and the Society for the Advancement of Violence and Injury Research have been leading an initiative to address this shortcoming. The primary objective of this collaboration has been to identify, develop, and promote a common understanding of the essential skills and knowledge necessary for individuals to excel as violence- and injury-prevention professionals in public health practice. We report on the competency set identified to meet this objective.