Prevention institute
Prevention Institute(PI) is a non-profit national center located in Oakland, Ca dedicated to improving community health and well-being by building momentum for effective primary prevention. It’s website describes its work as "characterized by a strong commitment to community participation and promotion of equitable health outcomes among all social and economic groups.”
PI's work, described generally under public health, is expansive and includes numerous areas/issues of focus, specifically: injury and violence prevention, traffic safety, health disparities, nutrition and physical activity, and youth development. Although its work is focused on public health, Prevention Institute was founded to address both complex health as well as social issues. In its efforts to address public health and social issues, Prevention Institute works and collaborates with other recognized organizations from both the public and private arenas of policy, health care, public health and philanthropy including The American Public Health Association, The California Endowment, Kaiser Permanente, The California Wellness Foundation, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and community leaders, experts and organizers.
An example of its work is the California Campaign to Eliminate Racial and Ethnic Disparities in Health, which was an initiative formed through partnerships with the American Public Health Association and the California Health and Human Services Agency, and funded by the California Endowment, Kaiser Permanente, and the California Wellness Foundation.
Prevention Institute also provides training, technical assistance, research, and evaluation for coalitions, community-based organizations, government agencies and private foundations to establish effective prevention programs and efforts and help promote prevention policies. In addition to working directly with communities and institutions across the US, Prevention Institute develops tools and other materials to support the crafting, implementation, and evaluation of comprehensive prevention initiatives and effective coalitions. An example of this is THRIVE (toolkit for health and resilience in vulnerable environments) a community assessment tool that helps communities bolster factors to improve community health and reduce disparities experienced by racial and ethnic minorities.
Prevention is Primary
Prevention Institute has published several reports, tools, and other documents dealing with issues in public policy, public health and social issues. Recently, Prevention Institute published its first full-length book, Prevention is Primary: Strategies for Community Wellbeing, a landmark work on current issues in public health and primary prevention strategies, co-edited by Larry Cohen and Sana Chehimi of Prevention Institute along with Vivian Chavez of San Francisco State University. The text was published March 23, 2007 by Jossey-Bass and is written primarily for Master’s level public health, public policy and social welfare students to underscore the value and promise of prevention and to frame its practice as a key social and economic justice issue.
The following is a description offered on the publisher’s website :
“At time of unprecedented challenges and opportunities for public health, Prevention is Primary provides models, methods, and approaches for building health and equity in communities. Written in accessible and understandable language, this comprehensive book includes the theory, concepts, and models needed to harness social justice and practice primary prevention of unnecessary illness and injury in the first place. Prevention is Primary, written by associates of the nationally renowned Prevention Institute, is a theory-to-practice book for students, faculty practitioners, and community leaders who want to take a proactive stance against the most pressing health problems in the community including asthma, tobacco, violence, HIV, poor nutrition and physical inactivity, health disparities, and environmental injustice. The volume provides a comprehensive and practical understanding of prevention on a community level. The authors define the elements of comprehensive, quality prevention efforts—from the necessary partnerships that need to be developed to the training, vision, and policies that go into successful efforts.”
The institute’s founder and Executive Director is Larry Cohen, MSW.