Connections Lab: a case study exploring a web-based innovation designed to advance shared risk and protective factor approaches to preventing injuries and violence.

BACKGROUND: Injuries and violence share many of the same risk and protective factors, which are rooted in the social determinants of health (SDOH) and the social determinants of equity. Addressing shared risk and protective factors (SRPFs)-common factors that make it more or less likely that a population will experience injuries or violence-is critical prevention efforts. The Safe States Alliance created the Connections Lab-a suite of web-based resources to help injury and violence prevention public health practitioners and their partners understand, describe, implement and evaluate SRPF approaches.

DESIGN: A mixed-methods approach using the Diffusion of Innovation Theory assessed how the Connections Lab influenced users' knowledge, abilities and work related to SRPF approaches. A web-based survey was administered to 234 participants in April-May 2021. Semistructured virtual group discussions were conducted with a subset of 15 survey respondents who volunteered to participate.

RESULTS: The case study revealed three key findings. The Connections Lab: was diffused among practitioners across sectors within and outside of public health; it increased practitioners' perceived proficiency across 10 skill sets related to describing, planning, implementing and evaluating SRPF approaches; and it increased understanding of the importance of upstream and structural drivers of injuries and violence.

CONCLUSION: The Connections Lab was a critical first step to expand the definition of SRPF approaches, connect SRPFs to concepts of equity and the SDOH, and provide strategies for engaging partners in public health and across other sectors in SRPF approaches.