At a glance
Mississippi's success story highlights how Core SIPP implements, evaluates and disseminates injury prevention strategies into action.
What did Mississippi do?
Mississippi Core State Injury Prevention Program (Core SIPP) created an adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) Task Force informed by a training they developed for early childhood education teachers titled, "Unpacking the Impact: Understanding Adverse Childhood Experiences and their Effects on Child Development." The Task Force used National Survey of Children's Health (NSCH) data from 2019 which suggested that the percentage of children in Mississippi who have more than two ACEs is nearly 24% which is higher than the nation's average of almost 19%. Mississippi Core SIPP collaborated with a local licensed psychologist to design the training. The goal of the training is to help strengthen communities' ability to understand the potential harms of ACEs and how communities can play a role in preventing ACEs. The training will soon be available on the state's Department of Health website so that others interested in the training can access it.
How will the ACEs Task Force impact Mississippi?
The ACEs Task Force will share resources and assist community partners, initially in 10 communities, to take a shared risk and protective factors approach to ACEs prevention. It will also inform communities where to access additional ACEs resources within their designated trauma area. The ACEs Task Force works with communities to develop collaborative strategies to support public health actions for ACEs prevention alongside a variety of partners and agencies.
Why did Mississippi create the ACEs Task Force?
The NSCH stated that 26% of children ages 0-17 in Mississippi experienced one ACE as of 2019, while the national average of children who experienced one ACE is 21.1%. ACEs are potentially traumatic events that occur in childhood or aspects of the child's environment that can undermine their sense of safety, stability, and bonding. ACEs can have lasting, negative effects on health and wellbeing in childhood and life opportunities, such as education and job potential, well into adulthood. These experiences can increase the risks of injury, sexually transmitted infections, maternal and child health problems, and chronic diseases. ACEs vary by individual and population-level characteristics. The NSCH 2019 data showed that non-Hispanic Black youth in Mississippi are disproportionately impacted by ACEs. Building connections across partners can improve knowledge surrounding best practices for ACEs prevention. This includes increasing protective factors and reducing risk factors while focusing on health equity in ACEs prevention.