Violence as a Public Health Issue

Violence is not only a major public health issue, but a root social determinant of so many other health issues. From mental health trauma and physical trauma caused by war, to limited healthcare access due to unsafe neighborhoods, the toll taken by violence is tremendous.

The World Health Organization declared violence a major public health issue in 1996, defining it as “the intentional use of physical force or power, threatened or actual, against oneself, another person, or against a group or community, that either results in or has a high likelihood of resulting in injury, death, psychological harm, maldevelopment, or deprivation.” In 2022, the first World Report on Violence and Health was released. And just last week, US Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy issued a landmark Surgeon General’s Advisory on Firearm Violence, declaring firearm violence in America to be a public health crisis.

In this issue, we continue to bring forward the best thinking about this critical public health topic, in ways which matter to Delaware, and which we hope move forward an agenda of controlling violence locally and globally.

Table of Contents

3 | In This Issue
Omar A. Khan, M.D., M.H.S. and Katherine Smith, M.D., M.P.H.

4 | An Introduction to the Violence Issue
David D. Chen, M.D., M.P.H.

5 | Highlights from the Nation’s Health

6 | Implications of Exposure to Intimate Partner Violence in Childhood
Kelly Oberheim; Janice Barlow, M.P.A.; and Erin Nescott, M.S.

10 | It Takes a Village: Moving from Unaligned Action to Collective Impact
Cierra Hall-Hipkins, B.S.; Gwen Angalet, Ph.D.; and Dorothy Dillard, Ph.D.

18 | Celebrating Fifty Years of Crime Victims’ Compensation in Delaware
Paige J. Schmittinger, J.D.

20 | The DPH Bulletin – April 2024

23 | Rights of Crime Victims in Delaware

24 | Fogarty International – Global Health Matters

36 | Empowering Victims of Lived Violence: Delaware’s Hospital Violence Intervention Program (HVIP)
David Chen, M.D., M.P.H.; Johanna Rodriguez, M.S.W., L.S.W.; Mishai Pendleton, B.S.; Nichole Johnson, C.M.A.

43 | The DPH Bulletin – May 2024

46 | Understanding the Perception of Place and Its Impact on Community Violence
Dorothy Dillard, Ph.D.; Howard Henderson, Ph.D.; Johnny Rice II, Ph.D.; Amy D. Goldstein, B.A.; Maruice Mangum, Ph.D.

50| Can Past Psychedelic Use Mitigate the Severity of Opioid Use Disorder? Case Report of a Musician
Asim Trimzi and Morgan Campbell, M.D.

54 | A Safer Delaware: The Case for a Permit-to-Purchase Policy for Reducing Firearm Violence
Traci Manza Murphy and Sarah Stowens, Ed.D.

58 | The DPH Bulletin – June 2024

62 | Delaware Domestic Violence Coordinating Council Resource Guide

 

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