A variety of methods were used to construct the database of resources, strategies, and local program information, including:

Literature review to identify risk and protective factors shared by the five prioritized forms of violence

• • Articles were evaluated for the following criteria:
    • Published in a peer-reviewed journal
    • Demonstrated an association between a risk/protective factor and one or more violence outcomes OR
    • Were determined by researchers to have a strong theoretical linkage to one or more violence outcomes
  • Risk and protective factors were prioritized if evidence was found to support their association with 2 or more of the 5 prioritized violence outcomes
  • Conceptually similar risk and protective factors were combined into five themes to simplify strategy selection

Interviews with key stakeholders to assess current NC state plans to address each of the 5 prioritized violence outcomes

Literature search to identify evidence-based and evidence-informed strategies to address the shared risk and protective factors

Development of strategy inclusion criteria

• • Criteria adapted from North Carolina Smart Start and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)

Web search to identify local initiatives implementing evidence-based or evidence-informed strategies to address shared risk and protective factors; and to identify resources to support planning, implementation, evaluation, and funding of relevant strategies

Interviews with local programs implementing evidence-based or evidence-informed strategies to address one or more of the shared risk and protective factors

A note about the methods: The strategies highlighted throughout the Prevent Violence NC website are those that have demonstrated or indicate a likelihood of success changing the prioritized, shared risk and protective factors. These strategies have not necessarily been evaluated for their effectiveness on the prioritized violence outcomes. However, given the research linking the risk and protective factors to the violence outcomes, we have reason to believe that modifying the risk and protective factors will ultimately have an impact on the occurrence of violence. One goal of Prevent Violence NC is to continue to call attention to areas like this, where more funding is needed to support research and community-level evaluation.