The National Association of County and City Health Officials (NACCHO) and the Safe States Alliance convened 35 local, state, and national representatives to develop standards and indicators for model local health department (LHD) injury and violence prevention (IVP) programs. Standards and Indicators for Local Health Department Injury and Violence Prevention Programs was developed as a tool for LHDs to describe what would exist in a model LHD injury and violence prevention program in rural, suburban, and urban jurisdictions. Standards for LHDs related to IVP have been set with the following goals:
- Increasing the visibility of injury and violence as public health issues
- Multiplying the number of LHDs that focus on IVP
- Enhancing the effectiveness of LHD IVP efforts.
- Spurring the development and dissemination of new tools and resources for LHDs to effectively address the causes of injury and violence
The standards, indicators, and methods of documentation are not inclusive but are meant to help the LHD IVP program review its current efforts and identify potential areas for strengthening the program and future growth. Likewise, all standards may not be appropriate or applicable to all programs.
Instructions on using assessment tool:
- Read the indicators below and identify your program’s performance relative to the standard in question.
- Rate the indicator based on the descriptions listed:
1=No activity occuring
2=Some activity occuring
3=Consistent activity occuring - At the end of the assessment, review the score summary provided. Higher scores indicate exceeding what is recommended for each standard based on its indicators, while lower scores indicate need for improvement meeting the standard.
NOTE: This tool is designed to provide a snapshot of the program and provide data to determine ways a local department can grow its program.