Preventing Violence: A Public Health Participatory Approach to Homicide Reviews

Abstract

Death review teams are a common method for assessing preventable deaths, yet they rarely review adult homicides and do not typically include community members. Academic-community partnerships can enhance public health research by encouraging translation of research into practice and support a data-driven approach to improve community health and well-being. We describe the Pittsburgh Homicide Review Group, a community-partnered initiative to prevent future homicides through data review and community dialogue. Group members reviewed all 42 Pittsburgh 2012 homicides informed by three primary data sources: publicly available data, local service databases, and community outreach resources. Thirty-two individuals representing relevant county agencies and community groups participated in eight reviews. Data sharing among partners resulted in a comprehensive understanding of the context of homicides. Review meetings supported a collective discussion around potential contributing factors to homicides, intervention implications, and recommendations. Academic-community homicide review partnerships are a productive approach to inform homicide prevention and interventions that are relevant to communities and should be implemented widely.

Contributors to the black-white life expectancy gap in Washington D.C.

“…Other effective homicide interventions include individual behavior change through improving educational success or enhancing knowledge and skills to avoid expressive violence 24 . Engaging at-risk individuals, including youths arrested during violent incidents or gunshot wound survivors, and providing them with appropriate resources could further reduce the risk of homicide mortality 25 .…”