Statement of purpose Different forms of violence are connected and understanding these connections is important for prevention. CDC will provide an overview of the links between multiple forms of violence and Colorado’s Department of Public Health and Environment will present on their shared risk and protective factor approach to violence prevention. Participants will learn about: 1) The latest research on shared risk and protective factors across different forms of violence; 2) How experiencing one form of violence affects people’s risk for experiencing other forms of violence; 3) Considering peoples’ risk and protection from multiple forms of violence within the context of their communities.

Methods/Approach Connecting the Dots: An Overview of the Links between Multiple Forms of Violence is a new resource co-developed by CDC’s Division of Violence Prevention and Prevention Institute for injury and violence prevention practitioners. It includes a summary of the latest research on the connections between different forms of violence and how these connections affect communities.

Results Different types of violence are connected and often share the same root causes. Examples will be given of how to apply a shared risk and protective factor approach to violence prevention in a state health department.

Conclusions Understanding the overlapping causes of violence and the things that can protect people and communities is important, and can help public health practitioners at the federal, state, and local levels better address violence in all its forms.

Significance and contribution to the field Connecting the Dots translates research about connections between different forms of violence and describes how these connections affect communities, and Colorado’s Department of Public Health and Environment provides an example of the role that state health departments can play in addressing multiple forms of violence together. This information will help violence prevention practitioners improve the public’s health by thinking strategically and creatively about ways to prevent multiple forms of violence at the same time.