PREVENTION OF VIOLENCE LEADS TO THE END OF VIOLENCE
James Mercy, PhD, National Center for Injury Control and Prevention, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
"Good public health research is at the heart of making good policy."
James Mercy, PhD can still remember when violence and prevention were never used in the same sentence. Thirty years ago, the sole response to violence typically was from the police and the courts system, which apprehended and punished the perpetrator.
Through Dr. Mercy and his colleagues' research at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, he has helped transform the way Americans think about violence prevention by accurately framing it as an integral part of public health. Mercy explains, "Everyone has a role and responsibility in preventing violence, by working to address the problem before it occurs. Through the research we do here at CDC, violence prevention is now well established in the public health field by Congress and the people who help provide money to support research." Mercy's work also has helped violence prevention to be recognized as a global health issue. In 1996, the World Health Assembly declared violence a global health problem. This led them to work with the World Health Organization on the first "World Report on Violence in Health."
Mercy's work is also critical in implementing and evaluating violence prevention programs. His research calculates the magnitude of the problem and who is at risk; evaluates which strategies and policies are effective in each community; shows communities the most effective approaches for prevention; and demonstrates how prevention measures are cost-effective and worth the societal investment.
As seen with so many different aspects of prevention, Mercy and his colleagues find the most effective way to reach people is when they are young. For example, studies show that children who were abused at a young age, especially by a parent, are more likely to become violent, engage in unhealthy addictions such as smoking and drug use, and develop diseases like cancer, obesity and diabetes. Mercy's approach is to teach young people about the best ways to prevent violence in their own homes and in the community at large. Mercy explains, "We want to take the positive approach of prevention by creating safe, stable, and nurturing parent-child relationships."
One initiative, "Safe Dates," uses school-based curriculum to prevent dating violence in middle school aged children. CDC supported research has found that dating violence is generally an indicator of how adolescents will behave throughout their lives, particularly when they are in long-term relationships, which contributes to the larger problem of spousal abuse. By promoting and teaching children about respectful, healthy two-partner relationships, Safe Dates takes a positive public health approach to preventing violence by creating positive relationships, and has been proven to be effective in preventing physical and sexual violence.
Mercy says, "We all know that good health is central to our happiness and well-being - as individuals, communities, and a nation. And public health should not only be an integral part of the health care system, but society must recognize public health as extending far beyond the health care system to include all parts of society." He continues, "High quality public health research is key to ensuring a better future and quality of life for everyone. The progression from understanding the nature of the problem to developing interventions and adopting them is at the heart of solving the health problems we face as a nation, which is directly tied to our well being. Good public health research is at the heart of making good policy."