Changing our approach: Using an integrated, place-based methodology in community violence research

Abstract

Community violence is a geographically concentrated health disparity. Subsequently, community violence prevention frameworks emphasize the need for place-based intervention and research. However, how to use and integrate methods that generate place-based knowledge and the potential benefits of using and integrating these place-based methods, is lacking. We describe a place-based methodology that integrates data gathered from multiple qualitative and quantitative methods, including app-based geospatial data, walking interviews, participant photographs, and publicly available data. Using Ecological Systems Theory to guide analysis, we contrasted the type of information gathered through these various methods and explored to what extent results aligned or diverged. Walking interviews more frequently generated data related to participants' neighborhoods, such as neighborhood conditions that promote safety as well as differences in neighborhoods' level of access to these safety-promoting conditions. Each method provided unique data that complemented—and illustrated the complexity of—results derived from the other methods. For example, the presence of mediating organizations like neighborhood associations, as described by participants, was reflected in the high level of registered neighborhood organizations in the study area compared to the city at large. However, for other themes—such as regarding access to public green spaces—publicly available quantitative data were misaligned with participants' experiences and did not capture components such as access and quality. Using an integrated, place-based methodology generated insights across ecological system levels related to community violence, which can be used to inform multiple levels of intervention and action.