A public-health perspective on violence

Objective: To describe how specific theories and methods used in public health, especially regarding injuries, are related to violence. Method: Theories and preventive work in injury research (above accidents) are presented and related to violence. Resuts: Registration of injuries and an interest in the environment are seen as specific for injuries. In prevention there is a focus on community work and the concept of 'a safe community' has been developed. Haddon's matrix offers a foundation for theoretical injury research. It is formed by cross-tabulating the trichotomy of host-agent-environment against a time dimension. Conclusion: One practical and one theoretical model on how violence might be seen as an injury have been demonstrated. No clear evaluation has been made of the practical model up to now. The theoretical model has the advantage that the model makes it easier to get a more comprehensive picture of how different factors influence violence.