Violence in America: A Public Health Approach

The USA is said to be a violent nation. Historically, violence and infectious disease have been the two leading causes of premature death, yet until recently the field of public health has given little attention to violent behaviour. This book presents the first full epidemiological picture of violence in American society.

The aim of this volume is to draw together what is known about violence in our society, and to lead the way towards involving health professionals in education, prevention, and intervention. The authors, all experts in their fields, examine child, spouse, and elder abuse; sexual assault and rape; suicide; assaultive violence; and homicide. To each topic they bring an analysis of key issues in epidemiology, causal and risk factors, outcomes, and interventions.

"The professions of medicine, nursing, and the health-related social services must come forward and recognize violence as their issue and one that profoundly affects the public health . . . . As the chapters in this volume amply demonstrate, this is an awesome challenge to the health profession, but it is not totally uncharted. I look forward to continued progress in this area that is of such great significance for the health and well-being of all Americans and of our society as a whole." --from the Foreword by C. Everett Koop, former Surgeon General, Public Health Service "Models of violence and treatment options are contrasted and analyzed in studies which should appeal to college-level students researching public health issues, programs, and effectiveness. All offer different but important insights on the social and political ramifications of violence, both at home and abroad." --The Midwest Book Review "One of the best summaries of research on personal violence available. . . .The most comprehensive review of data sources on the causes, consequences and prevention of violence since the reports produced by the 1969 National Commission on the Causes and Prevention of Violoence. . . .Clear and concise. . . .Will serve as an excellent textbook for advanced students who need a summary of research on violence and a practical tool for professionals who need current information on data sources and on the causes, outcomes, or prevention of violence. . . .The selection of topics is excellent." --The New England Journal of Medicine "Timely . . . important . . . an accurate assessment of public health's first response. Those new to public health approaches to research into violence will find Violence in America an extremely valuable perspective on this pervasive problem in our society; those with experience will find it a useful reference. The book is a landmark primer and should be used by schools of public health, students, educators, politicians, community leaders, and public health professionals for planning, training, and program development." --Journal of Health Politics, Policy and Law "Helps to spotlight intentional injury as a grave problem, and one warranting more serious scientific attention. . . . Offers a wealth of ideas and material to laymen and specialists alike. Among the numerous beneficiaries will be emergency room physicians, legislators, academicians with responsibility for developing and teaching undergraduate or graduate courses on injury epidemiology and prevention, and public health officials in federal agencies and state and local health departments." --American Journal of Epidemiology "This collection brings together a diverse but well known group of authors from a variety of disciplines sharing a broad conception of the role of violence in our society. In the individual chapters described in Violence in America , the authors propose profound changes in the training of professionals, give good recommendations for further research, and point to targets for the funding and development of prevention efforts. Perhaps most important, the authors clearly demonstrate the need to transform the societal acceptance of violence in all its manifestations." --Journal of Public Health Policy "Far ahead of the field of violence prevention as practiced by public health professionals and others using public health techniques. The first two chapters, both by Mark Rosenburg and James Mercy, are particularly useful and provide a superb foundation for public health and the study and prevention of violence. I recommend this book to public health practitioners and to those who would participate in logical structured interventions for the prevention of violence." --Journal of the American Medical Association "This text by internationally recognized experts on family violence is packed with statistics about child physical and sexual assault, spouse abuse, violence against the elderly, suicide, and assaultive violence." --The Women's Advocate "Provides both a comprehensive overview of the problem and abundant epidemiological detail in a series of essays written by leading scholars of various types of violence. It also contains a host of ideas for programs and research. It is an important volume signaling a paradigm shift." --Muriel Gray, Journal of Employee Assistance Research "Excellent text!!"--R.F. Hamman, UCHSC School of Medicine