State of the science: violence prevention efforts in developing and developed countries

Violence is an important global public health problem that claims the lives of over 1.6 million people each year and results in numerous other health and social consequences. It is also a preventable health problem. This paper provides an overview of the current status of prevention efforts in developing and developed countries, describes what is known about the effectiveness of different approaches and highlights some of the important challenges in building the evidence-base for violence prevention programmes. Research conducted to date shows an imbalance in the emphasis of prevention programmes across the different types of violence. This imbalance is reflected in the timing of response, the nature and level of influence of interventions and programmes and the outcomes studied. Promising and effective approaches have been identified, but many more still require rigorous testing, particularly in developing countries. The current state of the science in violence prevention reveals both progress and a number of remaining challenges.