International studies in violence prevention : a policy analysis
Abstract
Violence is a leading cause of death and disability worldwide. Drawing on the
disciplines of Political Science and Public Health the purpose of this study is to
understand the conditions that determine political traction for the issue of violence
and facilitate the adoption of a strategy of prevention. Using multiple-case study
methodology, it draws on data collected from 42 in-depth semi-structured
interviews, eight weeks of direct observations and more than 200 pieces of
documentary evidence to examine violence prevention policy development in the
Western Cape Province of South Africa, Jamaica and the Republic of Lithuania.
The Shiffman Public Health Policy Priority Framework is applied to identify the
factors that influenced the advancement of violence prevention policy in each case
and to draw cross-case comparisons. The employment of this public health specific
framework in the field of violence prevention allows the study to reach conclusions
as to the utility of this framework for broader public health policy analysis and to
proffer some refinements.
Further findings suggest that bringing together academics, advocates and policy-
makers into networks, focused on a shared concept of violence, gains political
traction for the issue of violence and a strategy of prevention. It is found that the
conceptualisation of violence and perception of prevention are framed in a case
specific historical context and that an examination of this context is necessary to
understand the conditions that shape the status of violence prevention policy.
The results suggest that the development of violence prevention policy in other
countries would be expedited by the coalescing and informed engagement of the
violence prevention policy community in the web of institutions, interests and ideas
that underpin the public health policy process.
Type
Thesis, PhD Doctor of Philosophy
Collections
Items in the St Andrews Research Repository are protected by copyright, with all rights reserved, unless otherwise indicated.