OBJECTIVES: Widespread violence affects individuals but also alters group life. This study was designed to examine the effects of violence on an inner-city community. METHODS: A qualitative study was undertaken that included field observations and semistructured interviews. The study took place in Washington Heights, a New York City neighborhood with a high rate of violence, largely secondary to the drug trade. RESULTS: The 100 people interviewed differed widely in their definitions of violence and in their likelihood of having experienced violent acts in the course of daily life. High, medium, and low violence microenvironments were identified; risk of exposure to violence, but not individual definitions of violence, differed by location. Violence in all parts of the neighborhood inhibited social interactions, but the intensity of this effect differed by microenvironment. CONCLUSIONS: In Washington Heights, violence has injured individuals and fractured social relationships, leading to the state of social disarray referred to as "anomie." The public health response to the violence epidemic should address anomie through community organizing efforts.
The objective of this paper is the description of the transformation process after the reunification of East- and West-Germany taking the health care structures for alcoholics as an example. First the epidemiology of alcohol abuse and alcohol dependence are presented such as the individual alcohol consumption. These data are completed by hospital data. The social and organizational problems created by the transformation process after the reunification of Germany are described. Necessary structural changes and the expected development are discussed.
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