COURSE DESCRIPTIONThis is an intensive, competency based course designed to enhance participants’ knowledge and skills in injury and violence prevention. A problem-solving paradigm is used to introduce the principles and practice of injury prevention. Students use class lectures in behavioral, biomechanical, environmental, epidemiological, legislative, policy and community partnership approaches to injury prevention to develop a strategy for addressing a specific injury problem. Students are put in groups for practical application sessions to develop skills learned in the lectures. At the conclusion of the course, the groups present their strategies for addressing the injury problem they have been assigned.

This course is based on the 9 Core Competencies for Injury and Violence Prevention (as developed by the former NAICRC^[1]-STIPDA^[2] Joint Committee on Infrastructure Development).

The Nine Core Competencies for Injury and Violence Prevention [3]
1. Ability to describe and explain injury and/or violence as a major social and health problem.
2. Ability to access, interpret, use and present injury and/or violence data.
3. Ability to design and implement injury and/or violence prevention activities.
4. Ability to evaluate injury and/or violence prevention activities.
5. Ability to build and manage an injury and/or violence prevention program.
6. Ability to disseminate information related to injury and/or violence prevention to the community, other professionals, key policy makers and leaders through diverse communication networks.
7. Ability to stimulate change related to injury and/or violence prevention through policy, enforcement, advocacy and education.
8. Ability to maintain and further develop competency as an injury and/or violence prevention professional.
9. Demonstrate the knowledge, skills and best practices necessary to address at least one specific injury and/or violence topic (e.g. motor vehicle occupant injury, intimate partner violence, fire and burns, suicide, drowning, child injury, etc.) and be able to serve as a resource regarding that area.

^[1] Now known as SAVIR
^[2] Now known as Safe States Alliance
^[3] A more detailed list of the competencies which includes learning objectives can be found at: www.safestates.org