Development of an Emergency Department Program for Reducing Youth Violence

Investigators in Toronto engaged youth, parents, and community youth workers to design an emergency department–based intervention for reducing violence recidivism among youth. The intervention was developed through concept mapping, a mixed-methods research approach that involves four steps: brainstorming, sorting, rating, and interpretation of ideas. In this study, the first three steps were conducted online and the fourth at a community meeting. Participants were recruited through schools, youth violence–prevention agencies, and online networking sites; of 103 participants, 55% had been exposed to violence.

In the brainstorming step, participants were asked to envision ways that the hospital could help youth avoid future violence. Participa…