Public Health Training on the Prevention of Youth Violence and Suicide

Adolescents' involvement in violence remains a serious public health problem. Involvement in aggression and self-harm by adolescents leaves them at immediate risk of injury and often has ongoing and negative effects on future development, involvement in community and family life, and risk of morbidity and mortality for self and others. Public health practitioners are at the nexus of health care and service provision at local, state, federal, and multinational levels, and are well suited to provide training and technical assistance on youth violence prevention across disciplines and settings. In this article, training resources, opportunities, and strategies for prevention of the high prevalence of youth violence and suicide in the U.S. are discussed and recommendations for a new public health training initiative are outlined.