With its September 2004 meeting, the Safe USA Partnership Council launched Safety Matters: Seminars on Injury and Violence Prevention. The new program will feature a series of presentations and discussions on cross-cutting issues that influence many aspects of injury and violence prevention -- for example: alcohol/substance abuse, literacy, parenting skills, cultural competence, legal challenges, social marketing, health insurance plans and injury, individual freedom versus regulatory interventions, and more.

The Partnership Council invites colleagues from many organizations to come to the seminars - not only to benefit from the presentation and discussion, but also to learn more about the agenda and nature of the SafeUSA organization.

The first seminar session, September 20 at the Home Safety Council, featured Dr. Ralph W. Hingson of the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcholism discussing the role of alcohol in injury and violence.

The second seminar, held at the American Psychological Association on February 9, 2005, featured Deborah Girasek, PhD, MPH, of the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences. In a presentation titled Injury Risk Communication: Are We Dancing in the Dark? Dr. Girasek explored the challenges and the potential for public education programs to promote behavior change that reduces risk for injury and death.

The June 29, 2005 seminar at the Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health focused on youth violence. The expert panel addressed the impact of bullying, best practices in youth violence prevention, and strategies to reduce gun violence among youth. Speakers included Tina Cheng, MD, MPH; Phillip Leaf, PhD; Daniel Webster, ScD; Joseph Wright, MD, MPH; and Stephanie Bryn, MPH.