2015 APHA Annual Meeting & Expo

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Recorded Annual Meeting Presentations (RAMP) are now available for purchase.
Only $90 for presenters, $140 for registered attendees and $200 for non-attendees.

Online Program

324329
Use of Community Outcomes to Evaluate a Comprehensive School-based Intervention


Monday, November 2, 2015

Saba Masho, MD, MPH, DrPH, Department of Family Medicine and Population Health, Division of Epidemiology, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, VA
Diane L. Bishop, MPH, Division of Epidemiology, Department of Family Medicine and Population Health, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, VA
Albert Farrell, PhD, Psychology, Clark Hill Institute for Positive Youth Development, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, VA
Background: Youth violence is a major public health problem. While youth violence has declined in recent years, rates remain unacceptably high. This study examines the impact of a comprehensive school-based intervention in reducing youth violence using community level outcomes.

Methods: A comprehensive school-based intervention was implemented using a multiple baseline design from 2011-2014 school years. Three comparable schools were randomized to receive the intervention at different time points. Epidemiologic surveillance data from census tracks representing the three school zones (Community A, B, and C) were analyzed and youth violence rates were calculated. Data from Ambulance Pick-ups (AP), the Police Department (PD) and Department of Juvenile Justice Services (DJJ) were examined to assess the impact of the interventions. Mixed model analysis was conducted to determine differences.

Results: The rate of AP and reported assault victims to the PD significantly decline in Communities A and B following the interventions. While the rate continued to decline in Community B, a slight increase in rates was observed in Community A (p>0.05).  The rate of youth referred to the DJJ increased in the first year of intervention in Community A which subsequently declined. However, the rate in Community B declined following the intervention.

Conclusion: The comprehensive school-based intervention has shown promise in reducing violence. Schools and public health professionals should be aware of the potential impact of these programs. Future studies should examine the effect of these programs in community settings where youth who are not in schools can be reached.

Learning Areas:

Conduct evaluation related to programs, research, and other areas of practice
Epidemiology
Social and behavioral sciences

Learning Objectives:
Describe place based youth violence prevention outcome measures Determine the effectiveness of comprehensive school and family based youth violence prevention program using community based outcomes

Keyword(s): Youth Violence, Data Collection and Surveillance

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: I have been the director of the surveillance component of the grant. In this capacity, I have been collecting community level outcomes for youth violence prevention. Additionally, the data is being used to monitor and evaluate a school based comprehensive intervention.
Any relevant financial relationships? No

I agree to comply with the American Public Health Association Conflict of Interest and Commercial Support Guidelines, and to disclose to the participants any off-label or experimental uses of a commercial product or service discussed in my presentation.

Back to: 3303.0: Evaluation Approaches and Injury Surveillance