Community-based Prevention Research Articles

Reimagining public safety: Public opinion on police reform and gun violence prevention by race and gun ownership in the United States

Inequitable experiences of community gun violence and victimization by police use of force led to nationwide calls to “reimagine public safety” in 2020. In January 2021, we examined public support among U.S. adults for 7 policy approaches to reforming policing and investing in community gun violence prevention. Using a nationally representative sample (N = 2778), with oversampling for Black Americans, Hispanic Americans, and gun owners, we assessed support overall and by racial, ethnic, and gun owner subgroups. Overall, we found majority support for funding and implementing police and mental health co-responder models (66% and 76%, respectively), diversion from incarceration for people with symptoms of mental illness (72%), stronger laws to assure police accountability (72%), and funding for community-based and hospital-based gun violence prevention programs (69% and 60%, respectively). Support for redirecting funding from the police to social services was more variable (44% overall; White: 35%, Black: 60%, Hispanic: 43%). For all survey items, support was strongest among Black Americans. Gun owners overall reported lower support for public safety reforms and investments than respondents who did not own guns, but this distinction was found to be driven by White gun owners. The views of Black gun owners were indistinguishable from Black non-owners and were similar to White non-owners on most issues. These findings suggest that broad public support exists for innovative violence reduction strategies and public safety reforms.

Congress Passes First Significant Gun Safety Bill in Decades

Congress Passes First Significant Gun Safety Bill in Decades

The Dedalo Project, a Community-based Prevention Program for the Promotion of Healthy Behaviors in Adult Population: Model Description and Target Population Assessment

Noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) are the leading global cause of death. The Italian National Prevention Plan (INPP) highlights the importance of health promotion and NCD prevention while avoiding health inequalities. In line with the INPP guidelines, we initiated a multicomponent community-based intervention program, named the Dedalo project, to promote healthy and active aging among population living around the Vercelli’s municipality, Italy. A cross-sectional analysis, that used the baseline data of a longitudinal study of the project, evaluated the program’s ability to enroll participants participants who represent the socioeconomic conditions present in the municipality. To this end, we compared the main social characteristics and behaviors of 40–74-year-old subjects (n = 155), who had attended at least one Dedalo activity, to those of same age individuals (n = 124) randomly extracted from the general population. We found that most participants were women (81.3%) and had a higher SES compared to the general population. Furthermore, they were healthier—OR 0.52, 95% CI 0.31–0.87 for self-reported diseases—and displayed healthier behaviors—OR 0.20, 95% CI 0.08–0.46 for smokers; 0.32 95%, CI 0.16–0.64 for fruit/vegetable consumers; and 0.36 95% CI 0.20–0.64 for sweet beverages consumers. Overall, our initial evaluation indicates that the Dedalo project has so far struggled to enroll individuals with low SES, men with any SES, and subjects displaying unhealthy behaviors, thereby failing to meet the INPP goal of preventing NCDs while avoiding health disparities. Thus, efforts should be made to ensure that this community-based intervention program can effectively reach all the target population, in particular those individuals most exposed to behavioral risk factors.

Adapting a Motivational Interviewing Intervention to Improve HIV Prevention Among Young, Black, Sexual Minority Men in Alabama: Protocol for the Development of the Kings Digital Health Intervention.

BackgroundAfrican American or Black young men who have sex with men (BYMSM) are at a disproportionate risk for contracting HIV and have high rates of undiagnosed, and therefore untreated, HIV infection. In the southern United States, BYMSM face region-specific hurdles to HIV prevention, such as limited access to care and high levels of racism and intersectional stigma, necessitating HIV testing and pre-exposure prophylaxis interventions that address sociocultural and structural barriers while motivating BYMSM to engage in prevention. Brothers Saving Brothers (BSB) is a motivational interviewing behavioral intervention that successfully and simultaneously increased community-based HIV testing and prevention counseling and education among BYMSM in the midwestern United States.ObjectiveThe aim of this protocol is to detail the process for the adaption of the BSB intervention for midwestern BYMSM to the Kings intervention for southern BYMSM. During the adaptation process, the intervention will be modernized to include rapid HIV testing, as opposed to HIV testing that requires BYMSM to return for test results, pre-exposure prophylaxis, and the provision of structural supports, and for relevance in the southern United States.MethodsAim 1 is to gather qualitative data through focus groups and in-depth interviews with BYMSM aged 18 to 29 years in Alabama and in-depth interviews with prevention and outreach workers who routinely work with BYMSM in Alabama. NVivo qualitative software (QSR International) will be used for the coding and analysis of the transcripts via a thematic analysis approach. For aim 2, intervention mapping will guide the adaptation process, intervention content, components, and design. Both aims 1 and 2 will leverage the Exploration, Preparation, Implementation, Sustainment implementation science framework, with emphasis on the exploration and preparation phases of this model. By applying these frameworks, the original midwestern BSB intervention will be scientifically adapted to the southern BYMSM Kings intervention.ResultsThis study is ongoing as of 2022 and is expected to conclude in 2024, with aims 1 and 2 being completed in 2023. Qualitative data will offer insight into the current real-world experiences and preferences of BYMSM in Alabama. Feedback will be collected through the adaptation process to inform intervention refinement. Institutional review board approvals have been received.ConclusionsThe findings will inform next steps, that is, testing the Kings intervention for feasibility, acceptability, and preliminary effectiveness in a pilot hybrid type 1 effective-implementation randomized controlled trial. The study results will provide insights about important considerations for HIV prevention among BYMSM in the southern United States.Trial RegistrationClinicalTrials.gov NCT03680729; https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT03680729International Registered Report Identifier (IRRID)PRR1-10.2196/36655

The Role of Community Policing for Law Enforcement in Resolving Issues Outside of Court

The role of the Community Development Unit (Binmas) of the Bone Bolango Police is very important. Its existence can be one of the efforts to prevent crime through community-based prevention efforts. The type of research used is empirical legal research. The results show that the role of the Community Development Unit (Binmas) of the Bone Bolango Police is being played with an emphasis on improving the efficiency and technical capabilities of the police, but it still has shortcomings because even though the handling or resolution of problems that occur in the community is only a matter of violations, minor crimes need to be improved. The inhibiting factors are first in terms of the quantity of the number of personnel; second, the supporting facilities or facilities are still minimal; and thirdly, the lack of legal awareness of the community participating in counseling or socialization activities.

Local health systems resilience in managing the COVID-19 pandemic: lessons from Mexico.

ABSTRACTThe concept of resilience was applied to the public health field to investigate the way health systems are impacted by health crises, what conditions allow them to mitigate the blow, and how they reorganize once the crisis is over. In 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic caused by the SARS-CoV-2 virus represented a global challenge demanding immediate response to an unprecedented health crisis. Various voices drew attention to the intensity of the crisis in countries with greater inequalities, where the pandemic converged with other social emergencies. We documented the experiences of health personnel who faced the pandemic at the primary care level while simultaneously maintaining the functioning of other areas of medical care. Our results derived from a qualitative study comprising 103 participants from five states of Mexico. We aimed to show through inferential analysis their perspective on what we call “the resilience of local health systems.” We observed three stages of experience during the crisis: (a) Preparation (official guidelines received to organize care, training, and planning of epidemiological surveillance); (b) Adaptation (performance of community-based prevention activities, infrastructure modifications, telehealth); (c) Learning (participatory governance with city councils, business sector, and organized population). The study suggests that the local health systems analyzed benefited from the initiatives of health personnel that in some cases positively exceeded their duties. In terms of the resilience analysis, they were able to handle the impact of the crisis and cope with it. Their transformative capacity came from the strategies implemented to adapt health services by managing institutional resources. Their experience represents a lesson on the strengthening of the essential functions of health systems and shows a way to address successfully the increasingly complex health challenges of the present and future times.

From Bureaucratic Coordination to a Data-Driven Model: Transformation and Capacity Building of Community-Based Prevention and Control of Public Health Events.

Communities are the first line of defense in responding to major public health events. Taking the community-based prevention and control cases of COVID-19 in China as samples, this paper constructs an analytical framework for the generation of community-based prevention and control capacity of public health events from the perspective of governance elements optimization based on the methods of text analysis and limits-to-growth archetype analysis. According to the research, the community-based prevention and control of public health events realizes the integration of governance elements of key actors through the bureaucratic coordination mode and maximizes the prevention and control efficiency with the primary goal of epidemic prevention and control in a short period of time, which presents a “reinforcing feedback” loop in the “limits-to-growth” model system. However, with the development of the epidemic showing a strong trend of being latent and wide spread, the “reinforcing feedback” from the bureaucratic coordination model on the effect of epidemic prevention and control encounters the “regulatory feedback” that inhibits the growth at the data-driven level. On the basis of discussing the practice of the public health prevention and control mode in the grassroots communities under the established political framework, this paper attempts to construct an institutional reform system from technological governance to technological empowerment, so as to effectively realize the mode transformation of community-based prevention and control of public health events.

Education Pillar as a Community-Based Prevention Stunting During Covid-19 Pandemic

The high prevalence of stunting and poor environmental health conditions at Bengkulu and Kupang City, baseline the need for assistance to families to provide education on Community-Led Total Sanitation (CLTS). Through the implementation of the CLTS module science and technology, the purpose is to foster and empower CLTS cadre groups as family companions to educate about the 5 pillars of CLTS by increasing family knowledge, attitudes, and actions in preventing and overcoming stunting. The target audience is 40 families in Bengkulu and 40 families in Kupang City. Community Service activities were preceded by socialization with local governments and health workers, followed by training and coaching of cadres, and family assistance activities, by providing CLTS sanitation education for 4 months through home visits, assessed once a month. The results show that cadre training is effective in increasing the knowledge and attitudes of cadres. Family assistance activities are effective in increasing family knowledge, attitudes, and actions about CLTS in stunting prevention. Environmental health officers together with cadres need to improve programmed triggering activities, monitoring, and evaluation, as well as assistance for the community and local government advocacy to support the success of the CLTS implementation.

Unit costs of a community-based girl-centered HIV prevention program: a case study of Determined, Resilient, Empowered, AIDS-Free, Mentored, and Safe program.

We compare the unit costs of providing Determined, Resilient, Empowered, AIDS-Free, Mentored, and Safe (DREAMS) interventions to adolescent girls and young women (AGYW) reached across two sites, an urban (Nyalenda A Ward) and peri-urban (Kolwa East Ward) setting, in Kisumu County of Kenya. Micro-costing, using the average cost concept during project initiation and early implementation. Adopting the implementer's (provider's) perspective, we computed and classified costs in the following categories for each sub-implementing partner: medical and professional staff, administrative and support staff, materials and supplies, building space and utilities, equipment, establishment, and miscellaneous. These costs were summed across sub-implementing partners in a site to obtain the site-level total costs. These are then divided by the total number of AGYW reached in each site to obtain the unit costs. Data were collected from July to September 2017. The unit costs in the peri-urban area were about 1.9 times of those in the urban area. It cost about US$67 [or 170 International Dollars] to deliver the DREAMS intervention package to each AGYW reached in the urban area as compared with approximately US$129 (or 327 International Dollars) in the peri-urban area. First, it was generally more expensive to deliver DREAMS interventions in the peri-urban setting as compared with the urban setting. Second, the difference in unit costs was mainly driven by the building space and utilities. Strategies to lower intervention costs are needed in the peri-urban setting, such as using existing infrastructure (either governmental or nongovernmental) or other innovative ways to deliver the services.

Cost effectiveness analysis of childhood obesity primary prevention programmes: a systematic review

Background. Childhood obesity is associated with enormous health consequences and costs to society. This study aims to systematically review the studies on Cost Effectiveness Analysis (CEA) of primary prevention programmes of childhood obesity, discussing the gaps and providing recommendations for future research. 
 Methods. All the studies on the cost effectiveness evaluation of primary prevention of obesity among children were included. Studies were retrieved from MEDLINE and Google Scholar, up to 31st March 2012, with only English language papers being eligible. The quality of the retrieved studies was evaluated by using the Drummond scale.
 Results. Eight studies were included, five of which concerning community-based intervention programmes, while three school-based programmes. Fifty-percent of the studies, 3 school-based and 1 community-based primary prevention programme reported the intervention being cost effective. The studies were heterogeneous in terms of study design, quality, target population and outcome measures. Use of the Drummond scale showed that the eight studies were of low-medium quality. 
 Conclusion. Although model-based studies may be considered as practical measures applicable to different type of programmes and settings, we auspicate for a convergence towards the use of homogenous clinical and outcome measures in order to properly evaluate the added value of obesity primary prevention programmes in childhood

A Scoping Review of Community-Based Adult Suicide Prevention Initiatives in Rural and Regional Australia.

The need for continued research into suicide prevention strategies is undeniable, with high global statistics demonstrating the urgency of this public health issue. In Australia, approximately 3000 people end their lives each year, with those living in rural and regional areas identified as having a higher risk of dying by suicide. Due to decreased access and support services in these areas, community-based suicide prevention initiatives provide opportunities to educate and support local communities. A scoping review was conducted to explore the literature pertaining to such programs in rural and/or regional communities in Australia. This review follows the five-stage Arksey and O’Malley (2005) framework and the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses extension for Scoping Reviews (PRISMA-ScR) checklist. Nine databases were searched, from which studies were considered eligible if suicide prevention programs were community-based and catered for adults (aged ≥ 18 years) in rural or regional Australia. Ten papers that met our inclusion criteria were included in this review, showcasing a variety of interventions such as workshops, a digital intervention, art therapy, and initiatives to increase education and reduce stigma around suicide. Program engagement strategies included the importance of providing culturally appropriate services, the inclusion of lived experience mentoring, and tailoring the suicide prevention program to reach its targeted audience. Overall, there is a dearth of literature surrounding community-based suicide prevention initiatives for adults in rural and regional Australia. Further evaluation of community-based projects is required to ensure quality improvement and tailored suicide prevention initiatives for rural and regional Australians.

Empowerment and collective efficacy: Insights for community-based crime prevention

ABSTRACT The current climate surrounding policing in the United States indicates a need to develop more community-based solutions to crime in order to create a more just society. Collective efficacy theory is a widely studied framework that explores how communities mobilize to address crime through informal social control. Though collective efficacy is associated with lower levels of crime, research suggests that developing effective interventions based on the theory is difficult. The present study examines collective efficacy through the lens of empowerment and tests mutual efficacy and self-efficacy as predictors of informal social control among community members, and within respondents’ households. Findings from the study increase our understanding of how and why empowered individuals and communities mobilize to prevent crime, and identify practice behaviors that make collective efficacy theory more actionable for social work practice.

Development of an Integrated Community-Based Prevention Strategy in Freiham (Munich) from the Perspective of the Steering Group: A Qualitative Interview Study with Social Network Analysis

The City of Munich is planning and implementing a "Prevention Chain" as an integrated community-based prevention strategy in the new district of "Freiham" in Munich. This is taking place while the district is being built. The "Prevention Chain Freiham" aims to create an environment that enables a healthy upbringing of all children and adolescents right from the start. In order to guide this project, an interdepartmental working group was formed within the City of Munich's administration. This study analyses the working group's structures, processes and its collaboration with a variety of stakeholders. We conducted a multimethod study comprising qualitative interviews and social network analysis. Between March and April 2018, we conducted semi-structured interviews with members of the working group. The study participants also generated ego-centred social network maps. The transcripts were analysed using qualitative content analysis as described by Schreier. The network maps were also analysed using qualitative content analysis and the results were visualized. Our preliminary findings were interpreted, discussed and validated in a workshop in June 2018 with study participants. Ten members of the working group participated in the study. The interdepartmental, multiprofessional collaboration in the working group was perceived as beneficial for the process of developing and implementing the Prevention Chain. The external coordination by MAGs and the scientific expertise provided by the LMU Munich were considered highly supportive. Barriers to the planning and implementation of the Prevention Chain were mainly located at administration level. Most facilitators were attributed to the collaborative processes within the working group. After having mapped all stakeholders currently involved in the Prevention Chain (mainly actors within the City of Munich's administration), additional relevant stakeholders were identified by the members of the working group. The organizational form of the working group as a formalized association of representatives of various departments that are jointly responsible for the Prevention Chain is considered beneficial for the success of the Prevention Chain. This is further supported by the external coordination and academic support. Advancing the development and implementation of the Prevention Chain will require support from all relevant departments across sectors and hierarchies.

Using Mixed Methods to Identify Community Needs/Challenges, Assets, and Opportunities for Promoting Healthy Weight in Preschool-Aged Children in Two Rural Communities

ObjectivesChild obesity is a serious public health concern in rural areas. Some multi-level child obesity prevention interventions have been conducted in the U.S., but none have targeted rural areas. This formative study assesses needs/challenges, assets, and opportunities to promote healthy weight in preschool-aged children in two rural communities that will guide the development of a multi-level community-based intervention. MethodsMixed methods were used in two rural communities in Indiana and North Carolina. Parents of children aged 2–5 years participated in focus groups (27 parents) or interviews (14 parents). Childcare providers (n = 13) and stakeholders from 23 community organizations participated in interviews. Observational audits of grocery stores and physical activity resources were conducted using CX3 and the Physical Activity Resource Assessment tools, respectively. ResultsFamily barriers included limited nutrition knowledge, cooking skills, and financial resources. Childcare providers cited a disconnect between childcare and home practices, lack of funding and training in health, and limited childcare options to meet family demands. Community level challenges centered on lack of transportation, limited infrastructure in the built environment to support healthy lifestyles, and limited community activities/opportunities to be physically active. Reported community challenges were supported by audits- 38% of stores carried high-quality fruits/vegetables; 25% met recommended standards for other healthy foods, and the average physical activity environment score was 0.6 (out of 3). Assets included community organizations (food pantries, farmers markets, childcare) that provided access to low-cost healthy meals and avenues for families to connect/learn about healthy lifestyles. Participants recommended that interventions involve community partnerships, target the entire family, improve resource dissemination to the community, leverage existing resources, and explore avenues to improve existing infrastructure. ConclusionsBarriers to healthy weight exist in rural areas, but there are assets that can be leveraged. These findings will guide the development of a rural community-based child obesity prevention intervention. Funding SourcesNIH award (5R03HD097393) and UNC Chapel Hill.

Using qualitative comparative analysis to uncover multiple pathways to program sustainment: implications for community-based youth substance misuse prevention

BackgroundIn order to achieve wide-scale impact in community settings, programs must be sustained. Theory and empirical evidence suggest that intervention characteristics, organizational context, capacity for program implementation, and processes related to implementation are associated with continued program delivery. However, few studies examine how combinations of these factors work together in different settings to influence program sustainment.MethodsUsing scales specified in the Program Sustainability Assessment Tool (PSAT), the current cross-sectional study aims to identify the necessary and sufficient conditions for the sustainment of the Strengthening Families Program for Parents and Youth 10-14 (SFP 10-14). Staff (n = 59) at SFP 10-14 implementation sites across Washington State completed an online survey reporting on their current level of SFP 10-14 sustainment. They also completed PSAT, with eight scales designed to assess conditions that consistently produce sustainment. Data were analyzed using qualitative comparative analysis.ResultsEnvironmental support was the only necessary condition for sustainment success. Four solutions sufficient to achieve sustainment were also identified. These included the combined presence of (1) environmental support, organizational capacity, and funding stability; (2) environmental support, organizational capacity, communication, and program evaluation, in the absence of strategic planning; (3) environmental support, organizational capacity, program evaluation, and partnerships, in the absence of strategic planning; and (4) environmental support, communication, partnerships, and funding stability, in the absence of program evaluation.ConclusionsEnvironmental support in combination with organizational capacity appeared to most consistently produce sustainment of SFP 10-14 programs in Washington State. Program providers will benefit from a focusing on enhancing those conditions to increase program sustainment.

Health professionals' perspectives of integrating meditation into cardiovascular care: A descriptive qualitative study.

Preliminary research suggests that meditation may provide benefits in psychological health and well-being in people with cardiovascular disease (CVD). However, little is known about health professionals' perceptions of the barriers and facilitators to integrating meditation into CVD. A descriptive qualitative study design with semi-structured interviews was used to explore the acceptability of integrating meditation into outpatient CVD programs and the organisational factors that may affect its integration. Clinicians were recruited through purposive and snowball sampling. E-mail addresses were obtained from publicly listed profiles of cardiovascular and relevant health organisations. Interview questions included perspectives of organising or delivering meditation within a health setting, format of meditation delivery, organisational or other factors that facilitate or present barriers to integrating meditation into clinical practice, and perceived risks associated with integrating meditation in clinical settings. Verbatim transcripts were thematically analysed using an inductive approach and the Braun and Clarke (2006) method to identify themes within barriers and facilitators to implementation. Eighteen predominately female (61%) senior nursing and medical professionals (61%), as well as health managers (17%), psychologists (11%) and allied health professionals (11%), aged 40-60 years were interviewed between 18 May 2017 and 29 March 2018 in Australia via telephone, or face-to-face at a university or the participants' workplace. Three key themes were identified including: enhancing awareness of meditation within a biomedical model of care, building the evidence for meditation in CVD and finding an organisational fit for meditation in cardiovascular care. Meditation was perceived to sit outside the existing health service structure, which prioritised the delivery of medical care. Health professionals perceived that some physicians did not recognise the potential for meditation to improve cardiovascular outcomes while others acknowledged meditation's positive benefits as a safe, low-cost strategy. The benefits of meditation were perceived as subjective, based on preliminary evidence. Health professionals perceived that aligning meditation with health organisational objectives and integrating meditation into outpatient cardiac rehabilitation and community-based secondary prevention pathways is needed. A fully powered clinical trial is required to strengthen the evidence regarding the role of meditation for psychological health in CVD. Generating clinician engagement and support is necessary to enhance awareness of meditation's use in cardiovascular secondary prevention.

Potential for informal guardianship in community-based wildlife crime prevention: Insights from Vietnam

The notion that indigenous people and local communities can effectively prevent conservation crime rests upon the assumption that they are informal guardians of natural resources. Although informal guardianship is a concept typically applied to “traditional” crimes, urban contexts, and the global North, it has great potential to be combined with formal guardianship (such as ranger patrols) to better protect wildlife, incentivize community participation in conservation, and address the limitations of formal enforcement in the global South. Proactive crime prevention is especially important for illegal snare hunting, a practice that has led to pernicious defaunation and which has proved difficult to control due to its broad scope. This paper uses interview data with community members in protected areas in Viet Nam where illegal snare hunting is commonplace to 1) analyze the conditions for informal guardianship in the study locations; 2) explore how community members can become more effective informal guardians; and 3) examine how formal and informal guardianship mechanisms can be linked to maximize deterrence and limit displacement of illegal snaring. Results indicate that conditions for informal guardianship exist but that respondent willingness to intervene depends upon the location, offender activity, and type of offender (outsider versus community member). While respondents generated numerous strategies for wildlife crime prevention, they also listed crime displacement mechanism offenders used to avoid detection. We discuss how informal guardianship can be integrated with formal guardianship into an overall model of situational crime prevention to protect wildlife and incentivize community-led deterrence of illegal snaring.

Development and implementation of a community-based suicide prevention program in primary care

Background. Suicide is recognized as a public health issue in Malekan County through a health community assessment. A community-based suicide prevention program was conducted during 2014-2017. Methods. This health system research was conducted in seven steps, including conducting systematic reviews, gathering expert opinions, improving the coverage of suicide attempt records, conducting research to identify regional risk factors, conducting follow ups and managing the individuals attempting suicide, training health gatekeepers, and launching public awareness campaigns. Our goal was to lower the rates of suicide, and suicide attempt by 15% and 20%, respectively. Multiple logistic regression was calculated to estimate the adjusted odds ratios and the 95% confidence intervals. Result. 821 suicide attempts and 32 suicides had been recorded in the county. 70% of the suicides had been committed by men while the majority of attempters were females (64%). Most of the suicides (18cases-56.25%) had occurred in the spring while the majority of suicide attempts (288cases-35.8%) had been recorded in the summer. The common methods (62%) suiciders used were hanging and poisoning, which increased death risk significantly (OR: 8.5, 95% CI: 2.9–76.99). The incidence rates of suicide and suicide attempts reduced from 11.22, and 203 per 100,000 in 2013 to 2.63, and 157 in 2017, respectively. Suicide re-attempts also diminished from 12% in 2013 to 6.7% in 2017. Conclusion. Suicide, SA, and re-attempt were lowered by 75%, 22%, and 42%, respectively. Practical Implications. The practical framework that emerged out of the present study can be used for generating future suicide prevention strategies. Furthermore, our study highlights the need to consider a wide range of contextual factors when developing suicide prevention programs.

COVID-19 and youth violence: views from the frontline

ABSTRACT Violent crime tends to be concentrated in economically disadvantaged, racially minoritized communities, particularly among youth. Emerging research suggests that the COVID-19 pandemic may have exacerbated the drivers of violence in these communities but provides limited insight into its effects in a single locale, especially small to mid-size cities, and on those on the frontlines of youth violence (i.e., youth service workers). In the current study, we provide an in-depth, qualitative examination of these dynamics in vulnerable neighborhoods in Lansing, Michigan, centering the voices of those instrumental to violence prevention and community resilience. Specifically, we explore youth service providers’ perceptions of how COVID-19 changed youth violence and impacted families, communities, and organizations working to prevent and control youth violence. We use the socioecological model adopted by the public health field to explain and prevent violence to guide our work, as this framework recognizes the interlocking and interactive effects of systemic, community, and relational experiences on youth behavior. As such, it allows us to situate community-based organizations and youth service providers’ perceptions within the broader contexts that shape violence. Our findings suggest the need for increased support for community-based prevention and for interventions that rectify structural inequalities.

Shutting the Gate: A Preliminary Study of Farm Crime Prevention Methods Used by the Police in Rural England and Wales

Rural crime is an issue for farms across the United Kingdom. The costs of farm crime are at their highest level in eight years and impact on both farmers and consumers. Past research has examined farmers' attitudes towards farm crime prevention but the attitudes of the police have been little explored. Police forces in rural England and Wales were surveyed about their views on farm crime prevention (e.g. prevention methods used, efficacy of methods, future of farm crime prevention). Traditional and community-based prevention methods such as regular patrols, proactive operations, prevention initiatives and community education were widely used, as were technological prevention methods such as CCTV. Just over half of respondents perceived these methods to be effective though concerns were raised that their efficacy was affected by limited police resources. The majority of respondents felt that the future of farm crime prevention would involve better physical security, more CCTV and more crime prevention initiatives.