Profs. Lennette Azzi-Lessing and Margaret Lombe Receive Research Award for the Prevention of Violence Against Young Children in South Africa

Professors Lenette Azzi-Lessing and Margaret Lombe, BUSSW faculty and affiliates at The Center for Innovation in Social Work & Health (CISWH), were awarded a one year University-Community Partnerships research grant from the Institute for Early Childhood Well-Being at BU’s Wheelock College of Education & Human Development. The CISWH team will partner with the Children’s Institute at the University of Cape Town and True North, a non-profit organization in Vrygond, South Africa. The partners will build a knowledge base to guide the development of an innovative, evidence-based, and community-informed model to reduce violence against young children in South Africa.

“This project is a clear example of CISWH’s commitment to leadership in social work information-sharing, training, research and policy development in global health equity,” said Ellie Zambrano, CISWH executive director.

Centering Communities in Violence Prevention

The pilot project will highlight how an evidence-based model of violence prevention that responds to family’s economic and other needs and engages local communities reduces the risk of violence against young children in South Africa.

Building a Community and Research-Based Model

The partners will develop the model of violence prevention by:

• Conducting a review of existing research to pinpoint gaps in knowledge
• Hosting panels featuring scholars and community and program experts, including local government and community leaders, and parents with lived experience
• Conducting a workshop combining literature review results and community and researcher-expertise
• Publishing a scholarly paper and research briefs based on findings from the literature review and community gatherings

Read the full abstract here.

About the Institute for Early Childhood Well-Being’s University-Community Partnerships Research Award

The University-Community Partnerships Research Award supports research addressing new approaches for sustaining young children’s health and overall well-being locally and globally through collaborations among BU early childhood researchers and community collaborators. BUSSW Professor Ruth Paris serves as the associate director for research at the Institute.

Learn more.