Skip to Main Content

RTI uses cookies to offer you the best experience online. By and clicking “accept” on this website, you opt in and you agree to the use of cookies. If you would like to know more about how RTI uses cookies and how to manage them please view our Privacy Policy here. You can “opt out” or change your mind by visiting: http://optout.aboutads.info/. Click “accept” to agree.

Accept
RTI International
  • About
    • Office Locations
    • Executive Leadership
    • Corporate Governance
    • Partner with Us
      • U.S. Government
      • Clients and Funding Agencies
      • Industry and Commercial Clients
      • Foundations and Associations
      • Bilateral Agencies and Multilateral Banks
      • Universities and Academic Research Institutions
      • Suppliers and Small Businesses
    • Commitment to Quality
      • RTI's Client Listening Program
    • Ethics and Human Research Protection
    • Living Our Mission
    • Veteran Opportunities at RTI

    About

  • Practice Areas
    • Health
      • Public Health and Well-Being
      • Health Care Transformation
      • Behavioral Health
      • Health Behavior Change
      • Precision Medicine
      • RTI Health Solutions (RTI-HS)
      • RTI Center for Community Health Evaluation and Economics Research
      • Health Equity
      • RTI Health Advance
    • Transformative Research Unit for Equity​
      • Equity Capacity Building Hub
      • Social and Economic Justice Research Collaborative
      • Narrative Research and Community Engagement Lab
    • Education and Workforce Development
      • Early Childhood
      • K-12 Education
      • Postsecondary Education
      • Career and Adult Education and Workforce Development
      • Education Policy, Systems, and Governance
      • Education Research Methodologies
      • Education Technologies
    • International Development
      • Energy for Development
      • Environment
      • Global Food Security, Agriculture, and Nutrition
      • Global Health
      • International Education
      • Monitoring, Evaluation, Research, Learning, and Adapting (MERLA)
      • Youth and Economic Opportunity
      • Building Resilience Against COVID-19 in Developing Countries
      • Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene (WASH)
      • RTI Center for Governance
    • Climate Change
      • Clean Energy Technology and Renewables
      • Climate Finance
      • Climate Justice and Equity
      • Climate Planning, Preparedness and Resilience
      • Climate Policy
      • Climate Vulnerability, Adaptation, and Mitigation
      • Economic Impacts of Climate Change
    • Water
      • Food-Energy-Water Nexus
      • Water Quality
      • WASH (Water, Sanitation, Hygiene)
      • Water Resources Management
    • Energy Research
      • Carbon Capture and Utilization
      • Biomass Conversion
      • Natural Gas
      • Energy Efficiency
      • Industrial Water
      • Syngas Processing
    • Environmental Sciences
      • Air Quality
      • RTI Center for Water Resources
      • Urban Sustainability
      • Toxics
      • Climate Change
      • Building Resiliency in the FEW Nexus
      • Climate Change Sciences and Analysis
      • Environmental Policy
      • Environmental Justice
      • Sustainable Materials & Waste Management Solutions
    • Justice Research and Policy
      • RTI Center for Community Safety and Crime Prevention
      • RTI Center for Policing Research and Investigative Science
      • Child Well-Being and Family Strengthening
      • RTI Center for Forensic Sciences
    • Food Security and Agriculture
      • Market Systems Strengthening
      • Food Safety
      • Food and Nutrition
      • Global Food Security, Agriculture, and Nutrition
      • Climate-Smart Agriculture
      • Youth in Agriculture
      • Agricultural Innovation
      • Obesity Prevention
    • Innovation Ecosystems
      • Innovation Advising
      • Innovation for Economic Growth
      • Innovation for Emerging and Developing Economies
      • Innovation for Organizations
      • Research, Technology, and Innovation Policy
      • Technology Acceleration
    • Military Support
      • Military Behavioral Health
      • Military Health and Human Performance
      • Military Sexual Assault, Harassment, and Domestic Violence Prevention
      • Wearable Sensor Technologies
      • Military Health System Transformation

    Practice Areas

  • Services + Capabilities
    • Surveys and Data Collection
      • Survey Design
      • Instrument Development
      • Survey Methodologies
      • Data Collection
      • Establishment Surveys
      • Health Registries
      • Data Analysis and Reporting
      • Research Operations Center
    • Statistics and Data Science
      • Survey Statistics
      • Environmental Statistics
      • Coordinating Centers for Multisite Studies
      • Analysis and Design of Complex Data
      • Biostatistics
      • RTI Center for Data Science
    • Evaluation, Assessment and Analysis
      • Evaluation Design and Execution
      • Advanced Qualitative, Quantitative, and Mixed Methods
      • Evaluation, Monitoring, and Assessment
      • Economic Analysis
      • Evaluating Communication Interventions and Campaigns
      • Evidence Synthesis for Policy and Practice
      • Risk Assessment and Prediction
    • Program Design and Implementation
      • Systems Strengthening and Scaling
      • Capacity Assessment and Building
      • Policy Reform Support
      • Curriculum and Teacher Professional Development
      • Interventions and Prevention Programs
      • Implementation Science
    • Digital Solutions for Social Impact
      • Human-Centered Design of Digital Solutions
      • Digital Product Development
      • Digital Communication Campaigns
      • Digital Data Analytics
    • Research Technologies
      • Survey Technologies
      • Data Management and Decision Support Systems
      • Geospatial Science, Technology, and Visualization
      • ICT for Limited-Resource Settings
      • Mobile Applications
      • Web Applications
      • Bioinformatics
      • Interactive Computing
    • Drug Discovery and Development
      • Medicinal Chemistry
      • Molecular Design and Cheminformatics
      • Behavioral Pharmacology
      • Drug Metabolism and Pharmacokinetics (DMPK)
      • In Vitro Pharmacology, Bioassay Development, and High-Throughput Screening (HTS)
      • Isotope Labeling
      • Regulatory Consulting and Support for Medical Products
    • Analytical Laboratory Sciences
      • Bioanalytical and Toxicology Research
      • Forensic Sciences
      • Physicochemical Characterizations
      • Metabolomics
      • Proficiency Testing and Reference Materials
      • Quality Assurance and Regulatory Compliance
      • Microbiology
      • Analytical Chemistry and Pharmaceutics
    • Engineering & Technology R&D
      • Biomedical Technologies
      • Decarbonization Sciences
      • Environmental Exposure & Protection
      • Materials & Environment
      • Sustainable Energy Solutions

    Services + Capabilities

  • Centers
    • RTI Center for Advanced Methods Development
    • RTI Center for Communication Science
      • Communication Research
      • Communication Design
      • Communication Delivery
    • RTI Center for Data Science
    • RTI Center for Education Services
      • Teaching and Learning
      • Education Leadership
      • Peer Learning Networks
      • Strategic Consulting
    • RTI Center for Forensic Sciences
    • RTI Center for Global Noncommunicable Diseases
      • Program Financing & Economics for NCDs
      • Health Systems Strengthening for NCDs
      • Communication Science and Behavior Change for NCDs
      • Implementation Science for NCDs
    • RTI GenOmics, Bioinformatics, and Translational Research Center
      • Disability Studies
      • Ethics
      • Newborn Screening
    • RTI Center for Water Resources
      • Water Resources Sectors
      • Water Resources Services
      • Water Resources Tools
    • RTI Center for Governance
    • RTI Global Gender Center
    • North Carolina Center for Optimizing Military Performance
    • NCCU-RTI Center for Applied Research in Environmental Sciences
    • RTI Center for Climate Solutions

    Centers

  • Impact
    • Newsroom
    • Insights Blog
    • Events
    • Publications
    • RTI Press
      • About the RTI Press
      • Instructions for Authors
      • RTI Press Collections
    • Projects
    • Global Reach
      • Asia
      • Eastern Europe and Central Asia
      • RTI International India
      • Africa
      • Middle East and North Africa (MENA)
      • Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC)

    Impact

  • Experts
    • Our Experts
    • In-Depth With Our Experts
    • Related News
    • Experts In the Media
    • RTI Fellow Program

    Experts

  • Emerging Issues
    • COVID-19 Research
    • Artificial Intelligence
    • Global Health Security
    • Cannabis Research
    • Opioid Research
      • Interventions for Opioid Use Disorders
      • Preventing Opioid Misuse and Overdose
      • Treating Opioid Use Disorders
    • Policing Research and Investigative Science
    • Drone Research and Application
    • E-cigarette Research
    • Zika Virus Research
    • Integrated Governance

    Emerging Issues

  • COVID-19 Research + Response
  • Global Reach
  • Insights Blog
  • Newsroom
  • RTI Press
  • Publications
  • Partner With Us
  • Careers
  • Facebook IconTwitter IconInstagram IconYouTube IconLinkedin Icon
  • Home
  • Impact
  • Newsroom
  • RTI Wins Four CDC Awards to Enhance Violence Prevention Programs
Newsroom

RTI Wins Four CDC Awards to Enhance Violence Prevention Programs

October 19, 2020
Share
  • Share on Facebook
  • Share on Twitter
  • Share on Linkedin
  • Email

RTI International has been granted three awards from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and a fourth as a subcontractor to the Prevention Institute to bolster violence prevention efforts across four critical areas: suicide, youth violence and adverse childhood experiences (ACEs), firearm violence, and sexual violence.

These prevention efforts all align with the recently announced Strategic Priorities for 2020-2024 for CDC’s Division of Violence Prevention (DVP), which will focus on (1) increasing the number people exposed to prevention strategies that are proven to reduce violence, (2) reducing ACEs, and (3) expanding understanding of how to prevent firearm-related injuries and deaths. RTI is proud to support the CDC in these prevention efforts and help identify, evaluate, disseminate, and implement proven prevention strategies that will have a landmark impact on individuals and communities.

In addition to aligning with CDC’s strategic priorities, two of the grants also address issues that have been exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic: suicide and firearm violence, especially among people of color who have been disproportionately affected by COVID. RTI will research methods to help strengthen prevention efforts in these areas by evaluating the effectiveness of CDC’s current strategies and making expert recommendations for strategic changes to prevent suicide and other forms of violence. 

One grant will also seek to understand a daily tragedy in the United States—the fact that about 109 people die from firearm-related injury every day. In a historic funding announcement, the CDC has awarded sixteen research grants to understand and prevent firearm violence as well as promote community safety.

These four CDC projects are led by researchers in the RTI Center on Social Determinants, Risk Behaviors, and Prevention Science, which is dedicated to promoting evidence-based prevention, harm reduction, and treatment strategies to help communities thrive. RTI experts will provide their proficiency in evaluation, training and technical assistance, data analysis, systematic literature reviews, and environmental scans to combat multiple forms of violence across the United States.  

These cross-institute collaborations also include researchers in the Division of Applied Justice Research (AJR) and the Center for Data Science.

“We are excited about the opportunity to substantially expand our comprehensive and collaborative violence prevention research across the United States,” said Senior Director of the RTI Center on Social Determinants, Risk Behaviors, and Prevention Science, Dr. Phillip W. Graham. “Our Center emphasizes the value and importance of applied research that embraces community partnerships and recognizes community stakeholders are key to the success of that work. As communities are confronted with issues of systemic racism, inequities, a pandemic, and restricted access to services and opportunities, it is critical to implement and study strategies that reflect the appropriate contextual understanding. We believe the research that is embedded in each of these projects will advance the science around supporting communities in general but marginalized and underserved communities in particular.”

Learn More About RTI’s New CDC Prevention Research Grants:

Effectiveness of Adverse Community Experiences and Resilience (ACER) and Community Organizing for Preventing Youth Violence and ACEs

Led by Dr. Phillip W. Graham, this award from the CDC Division of Violence Prevention seeks to prevent (ACEs), including traumatic events that can negatively affect a minor’s physical and behavioral health. RTI will evaluate the effectiveness of the ACER violence prevention framework combined with community organizing in stopping child abuse, neglect, and youth violence in Milwaukee. The ACER project builds on an existing partnership between the Prevention Institute and the Milwaukee Office of Violence Prevention to heal from ongoing community traumas including incidents of police use of force affecting African American residents. Findings will inform approaches to strengthen community resilience and prevent multiple forms of violence experienced by youth, and RTI will help determine best strategies to distribute these methods to communities.

An Examination of Firearm Violence Crises Using Crisis Text Line Data: Filling a Critical Gap

Led by Dr. Anna Yaros, this project will help mitigate the high number of firearm-related injuries and deaths that occur daily in the United States. The RTI team, co-led by AJR’s Ashley Lowe, will analyze Crisis Text Line data related to multiple types of firearm violence to help inform prevention approaches and improve understanding of gun-related violence. The data science team (led by Rob Chew) in RTI's Center for Data Science will apply machine learning and natural language processing (NLP) to this rich source of text data to study relationships between firearm violence, mental health crises, and exacerbations introduced by the COVID-19 pandemic, with the goal to inform CDC’s applied strategies in keeping people safe from firearm-related injuries, death, and crime. This award is an important step towards protecting communities from gun violence and its consequences and is a historic CDC funding opportunity in progress towards prevention.

Evaluating the Effects of the Bar Outreach Project in North Carolina

Led by Dr. Marni Kan, a prevention researcher at RTI, this project will evaluate the effectiveness of primary prevention programs, policies, and practices implemented by the CDC’s Rape Prevention and Education (RPE) Program. The goal of the RPE program is to strengthen sexual violence prevention efforts by changing the social norms around sexual assault and increasing bystander intervention in potentially dangerous situations through a Bar Outreach Program developed and implemented by Our Voice in Buncombe County, NC since 2012. Research funded by this grant will expand the evidence base for these strategies which include promoting social norms opposing violence, opportunities to empower girls and women, and creating protective environments.

Learn More About RTI’s New CDC Prevention Contract:

CDC Suicide Prevention Technical Package Update

Led by Dr. Anna Yaros, this contract with the Prevention Institute (PI) supports CDC’s efforts to update their Suicide Prevention Technical Package with consideration of making the package relevant during catastrophic events, like the COVID-19 pandemic. RTI will update knowledge about suicide prevention through a systematic literature review and environmental scan of suicide prevention interventions, including those for populations showing recent suicide attempt rate increases such as African American youth. The project will re-examine existing methods within the CDC’s technical package and provide expert input on new evidence-based strategies for suicide prevention. After renewing the CDC’s Technical Package with the latest strategies, the RTI team will support PI in disseminating modules that will assist communities in using the new suicide prevention package within the infrastructure disruptions of the COVID-19 pandemic. Now more than ever due to social isolation, prevention efforts against suicide and support from the community are crucial.

Learn more about RTI’s prevention work.

Meet the Experts

Dr. Phillip Graham
Phillip W. Graham Director, Center for Behavioral Health Epidemiology, Implementation, and Evaluation Research
Anna Yaros, Research Clinical Psychologist
Anna Yaros Research Clinical Psychologist
Dr. Marni Kan
Marni Kan Prevention Researcher
Anna Godwin
Anna Godwin Research Data Scientist
Robert Chew Senior Research Data Scientist

Media Info

To request an interview, contact our Media Relations team.

  • +1 919 708 8205
  • news@rti.org
Subscribe to RTI

RTI Logo
Partner With Us
  • US Government
  • Commercial
  • Foundations & Associations
  • Multilateral Donors
  • Universities
  • Suppliers
Site
  • Privacy Policy
  • Security Policy
  • Site Map
  • Terms of Use
  • Accessibility
  • Contact Us
Contact Us
Facebook Icon Twitter Icon Instagram Icon YouTube Icon Linkedin Icon
delivering the promise of science
for global good
RTI Health Solutions RTI Innovation Advisors RTI Health Advance

© 2023 RTI International. RTI International is a trade name of Research Triangle Institute. RTI and the RTI logo are U.S. registered trademarks of Research Triangle Institute.