Article Text
Abstract
In 2000, the Safe States Alliance (formerly the State and Territorial Injury Prevention Directors Association (STIPDA)) began the State Technical Assessment Team (STAT) Program to support the development, implementation and evaluation of injury and violence prevention efforts at shoulder dystocia (SHD) by conducting an on-site, point-in-time assessment of the injury prevention program with recommendations for improvement. To date, the Safe States Alliance has conducted 30 visits. The STAT Program focuses on five core components representing the current understanding about creating and sustaining effective state health department injury and violence prevention programs. Standards and indicators for each core component describe the conditions that should exist within an ideal SHD injury and violence prevention program. Findings suggest that the STAT process is rewarding and valuable for both the visited injury programs and the assessment team including raising the visibility of injury as a public health problem within the health department, validating positive existing efforts, bringing attention to critical issues, and providing the impetus for strategic planning. State injury prevention directors also credit STAT with positive outcomes for their programs such as: new staff positions, enhanced support from state level policy-makers; the formation or strengthening of community coalitions; access to new funding sources; and stronger grant applications for core capacity funding. Additionally, the Safe States Alliance will share findings from formative, process and impact evaluations as well as trends in recommendations given to states over 10 years of implementation and next steps for program development.