Hospitals Against Violence

Violence — in its many forms — is a major public health challenge. The AHA, along with its nearly 5,000 member hospitals, health systems and other health care organizations, are committed to addressing all forms of violence affecting our staff as well as the patients and communities we serve.

The Hospitals Against Violence Initiative (HAV) is sharing examples and best practices with the field, with a particular emphasis on youth violence prevention, workplace violence prevention and combatting human trafficking. Explore this page to learn more about effective prevention strategies and program development on national, state and local levels to help end violence in our communities and to help hospital employees cope with the impact of violence, whether at home, on the job or in their neighborhoods. We welcome your thoughts and initiatives; email us at hospitalsagainstviolence@aha.org.

Health Systems Interventions to Prevent Firearm Injuries and Death

Kaiser Permanente in partnership with the AHA and the National Academy of Medicine hosted a workshop to discuss health system’s role in preventing firearm injury and death. Click here for more information on the workshop.

For the first time, 29 new ICD-10 codes are now available to allow providers to identify and assist victims of human trafficking and coding professionals to translate that information into data that will provide greater insights into the problem.

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An Overview on the Hospitals
Against Violence Initiative

Hospitals Against Violence News

Public Health Approach to Addressing Gun Violence

Every day, hospitals and health systems across the country respond to the health care injuries caused by gun violence. Gun violence has a significant health care dimension and as cornerstones of your communities, hospital and health system leaders have the unique authority to lead ...

Combating Human Trafficking

Human trafficking, which involves the use of force, fraud or coercion to obtain some type of labor or commercial sex act, is increasingly a risk affecting our communities. Every day hospitals and health systems see patients who are victims of human trafficking. For this reason, human...

Workforce and Workplace Violence

Hospitals and health systems are committed to continually making their communities and workplaces safer. Key to that is preventing violence within hospitals, ensuring the safety of staff and patients. Through the Hospitals Against Violence initiative, AHA is highlighting successful ...

Youth Violence Prevention

Youth violence is a significant public health problem that affects thousands of young people each day and in turn, their families, schools, and communities. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, youth violence can take different forms including fights, bullyin...

#HAVhope Friday: Day of Awareness

On June 5, the fourth annual Hospitals Against Violence #HAVhope Friday takes place in the midst of nationwide mourning and protests against police brutality against black people. The tragic events that sparked these mass protests are but a few examples of the injustice and ...