ABSTRACT
Violence, including intimate partner violence (IPV), is a leading cause of death, disability, and hospitalization in the United States, and as such, it has been targeted for action in the nation’s public health plan (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 2000). Since 1994, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has received funding to develop and evaluate programs to prevent violence against women, most of which is attributed to IPV. In addressing health problems such as violence, the CDC utilizes a systematic approach to collect information and translate that information into action (Mercy, Rosenberg, Powell, Broome, & Roper, 1993). This approach involves four interrelated steps:
1. Collect information on the magnitude and severity of the problem to decide if it is, in fact, a priority for intervention.
