JMIR Publications

ABSTRACT

Background:

Violence is a public health problem, impacting community health among adults as well as children. Exposure and experiencing violence are adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) impacting the children’s well-being and health trajectory. Community-centered approaches to address violence are needed, yet the ability to design, implement, and measure these approaches is complex.

Objective:

The objective of this research is to understand the impact of community-level violence prevention interventions and describe the strategies of implementation.

Methods:

This study utilizes a Hybrid Type 1 effectiveness-implementation design. We plan to collect quantitative data in the form of hospital visits, census reports, calls for service, and other violence-related data to identify how the Adverse Community Experiences and Resilience (ACE|R) framework plus community organizing impacts violence and health-related outcomes. To evaluate implementation, we will collect process data on community engagement events, community trainings on the ACE|R plus community organizing framework, and conduct focus groups with key partners about violence and violence prevention programs in the city of Milwaukee.

Results:

Prospective study data collection began in Fall 2022 and will continue through the end of 2023.

Conclusions:

Community violence is a public health problem in need of community-centered solutions. Interventions that center community and leverage community organizing show promise in impacting violence and the well-being of community members. Methods to identify the impact of community-level interventions continue to evolve. Analysis of outcomes beyond violence-specific outcomes, including norms and community beliefs, may help better inform impacts of these community-driven approaches. Furthermore, hybrid implementation-effectiveness trials allow for the inevitable contextualization required to disseminate community interventions where communities drive the adaptations and decision making.