Principles of Prevention

Men and women in classroom with computers

CDC’s Principles of Prevention is a free, online training which teaches the fundamentals of violence prevention

Free Violence Prevention Course

Each year, more than 54,000 people lose their lives to violence. In addition to the tremendous physical and emotional toll, violence has substantial medical, lost productivity, and other costs. In 2000, these totaled more than $70 billion in the United States. The figure grows when we add criminal justice system costs, social services, and other expenses.

As Dr. Howard Spivak, director of CDC's Division of Violence Prevention, says, "Violence isn't something that just happens that you can't do anything about. It can be prevented."

One way CDC is helping the nation prevent violence is a free online training that's available 24 hours a day, seven days a week. It's called Principles of Prevention. The training—which offers continuing education credits through CDC—teaches the:

Key concepts of primary prevention,
Public health approach, and
Social-ecological model.

Photo: People working at computer stations

Participants complete interactive exercises to learn to help prevent five types of violence:

Child abuse and neglect,
Intimate partner violence,
Sexual violence,
Suicide, and
Youth violence.

Principles of Prevention is designed for those working to stop violence from ever happening. It helps professionals move from the problem to the solution. This course teaches the fundamentals of effective violence prevention methods and incorporates the growing body of research on what works.