0023 Multidisciplinary data-sharing for community violence prevention: shifting power to the community

Statement of purpose In order to inform community-based violence prevention strategies, community organizations and public health agencies are often forced to rely on data that are significantly lagged or incomplete. Near real-time data is critical for timely public health responses to violence prevention. This project brings together multiple organizations currently gathering data on community violence to collaborate sharing community-facing data in near real-time to strengthen violence prevention programs and policies. The overall goal of this project is to reduce assaultive violence and enhance neighborhood/community safety. Methods/Approach The Comprehensive Injury Center at the Medical College of Wisconsin (CIC-MCW) serves as the convening body for this interagency collaborative. At present, the data collected include emergency department data on assaults, hospital-partnered, community-based violence interruption program data, the city’s Homicide Review Commission’s homicide and non-fatal shooting data, data from a community-based organization that serves survivors of domestic violence, and Milwaukee County Medical Examiner data. Results This interagency collaborative has completed short-term projects, including developing a summary of assaults, non-fatal shootings, and homicides for review by the community. Additionally, this collaborative is submitting a proposal for funding to develop a real-time, community-facing data dashboard that will combine the various data sources and put data directly into the hands of the public. These data sources and their utility to the community will be presented. Conclusion Community organizations implementing violence prevention strategies often do not have access to real-time comprehensive information necessary to develop, implement, and evaluate programs and policies. This project shifts the power of data access from traditional entities to community groups that have expertise in necessary community interventions. Significance This project demonstrates how multiple stakeholders can come together to better understand the burden of violence while facilitating access to real-time data for community-based violence prevention response and planning.