Breaking the cycle of violence in young families and youth transitioning to adulthood is the focus of the new Center for Violence and Injury Prevention (CVIP) at the George Warren Brown School of Social Work.
Led by Melissa Jonson-Reid, Ph.D., associate professor at the Brown School, the center will provide research expertise on child maltreatment, intimate partner violence, sexual violence and suicide.
Jonson-Reid will introduce the work of the center during the Brown School’s Convocation address, “Violence Free Lives for Children and Families — Advancing Evidence and Training” at 3:30 p.m. Sept. 24 in Brown Hall Lounge.
“There are many researchers and agencies in the region doing excellent work related to these issues, but often in isolation,” Jonson-Reid said. “A center like this provides a launching ground for new initiatives. It provides the ability to translate findings to education for future practitioners across disciplines, training for existing practitioners and communication with policy makers.”
John Constantino, M.D., the Blanche F. Ittleson Professor of Psychiatry and Pediatrics, serves as center co-director.
Current CVIP projects look at violence prevention in adolescent girls and within the veteran community; the impact of savings accounts on preventing maltreatment in relationships; and adapting the “Safe-n-Sound” program to prevent abuse in young families.
Safe-n-Sound uses computer kiosks to provide tailored information to parents in places such as pediatric waiting rooms. Prior versions focused solely on preventing unintentional injury. The CVIP project will see if the same format can be used to deliver tailored information about positive parenting approaches.
“Prevention and intervention research and creating effective training programs requires collaboration,” Jonson-Reid says.
CVIP will be working with researchers from across Washington University; the Department of Criminology and Criminal Justice at the University of Missouri-St. Louis; the Saint Louis University School of Public Health; and an advisory board composed of experts from across the nation.
The center also will be partnering with regional agencies to ensure ongoing translation from research to training and practice.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has designated the CVIP as one of its newest Injury Control Research Centers (ICRC). The Brown School is the first school of social work selected to host an ICRC.
ICRCs are located at 11 academic health centers throughout the United States. At each ICRC, scientists from a wide spectrum of disciplines focus on discovering how to prevent and control injuries more effectively.
They also work to identify critical knowledge gaps in injury risk and protection and also conduct research to address these gaps. This network also provides technical assistance to injury prevention and control programs within geographic regions.