Understanding iatrogenic effects for evidence-based policy: A review of crime and violence prevention programs

This article has two main objectives. The first is to advance primary research on intervention studies that report iatrogenic effects. In short, we need to know a great deal more about why interventions cause harm. The second objective is to make the case that a body of knowledge on iatrogenic effects can play an important role in informing evidence-based policy. We view this knowledge as another key input in the policymaking process. Some primary research has been conducted on interventions with iatrogenic effects, and several studies with crime and violence outcomes are reviewed. Building on a number of important advances from this work, as well as from prior reviews on the subject, a research agenda is proposed to help enrich our understanding of interventions that cause harm and contribute to evidence-based policy in the area of crime and violence prevention. Directions for future research include carrying out longer follow-up assessments of interventions with iatrogenic effects and investigating the role of theory failure and implementation failure as potential explanations. In the same way that immediate action is needed to end interventions that cause harm, using the knowledge base on iatrogenic effects has the potential to provide policymakers with an important tool to help avoid causing harm in the first instance.