A five slide poster paper for the World congress of Public Health Associations, Melbourne, Australia, April 4th 2017

1. Preventing violence: a role for public health, from local to global
Professor John Middleton,
President, United Kingdom
Faculty of Public Health
President@fph.org.uk

2.  The epidemiology of violence
 Evidence-based violence prevention: a life course
approach
 Asset based community development
 Primary, secondary &tertiary prevention role of the
public health community as primary preventers of violent conflict,
through healthy public policies and tackling major social inequalities in
health; and as early reactors, mitigaters and responders to violence.
 New public mental health approaches
 A role for public health in conflict resolution with
aid agencies, political scientists, theologians and international lawyers
 A role for public health educational bodies
 A leadership and partnership role for public
health
www.fph.org.uk/uploads/Violence%20report.pdf
Areas of action for the public health
community in preventing violence

3. Global & local violence-
epidemiology and evidence
www.euro.who.int/violenceinjury
www.who.int/violence_injury
www.who.int/gender
◀️Middleton
J, Sidel V.
Terrorism &
public
health. In
Promoting
Public
Health.
Open
University
and Sage,
2007
Global deaths from interpersonal and collective violence,
2005 and 2015
0
100000
200000
300000
400000
500000
600000
2005 2015
Numberofdeaths
Collective violence Interpersonal violence
Bellis,
M. A.et
al.
London:
NHS
and
Dept. of
Health,
2012▶️
Source: GBD 2015 Mortality and Causes of Death
Collaborators, 2016

4. Crucial importance of early years, the first
1001 days and adverse childhood experiences
An evidence based approach – Good systematic reviews re
early years interventions, parenting training, youth
mentoring; good modelling of alcohol pricing, control of
access and enforcement.
A life course approach- new concerns about adverse
childhood experiences (ACES) impacts on violent behaviours,
poor communication and poor mental health in later life
A public mental health approach- linked to ACEs, the
neurobiological hardwiring of young brains in the first 1001
days; Reinforcing positive mental attributes: self-confidence,
self-esteem, self-expression and positive communication
A public health approach to violence prevention
Early Death
Social, Emotional and
Learning Problems
Adopt Health Harming
Behaviours and Crime
Disrupted Nervous, Hormonal
and Immune Development
ACEs Adverse
Childhood Experiences
Non Communicable Disease, Disability,
Social Problems, Low Productivity
LifeCourse
Death
Birth
Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs): impacts across
the life course. adapted from Felitti et al, 1998

5. RESULTS
Global roles (anticlockwise) : Arms
control local to global;
Planetary health: fairer use of resources;
interdependence of climate change,
conflict and migration; Conflict
resolution through non-violent means;
Conversion of resources to peaceful
purposes: military personnel, military
equipment, ‘Swords to ploughshares’

6. References and resources
Resources :
REWIND http://www.rewind.org.uk
http://www.quilliamfoundation.org/about/
Institute for Strategic Dialogue
http://www.strategicdialogue.org
WAVES Trust www.wavestrust.org.uk/home.html
Parent Infant Partnership http://www.pipuk.org.uk
ECPAT http://www.ecpat.org.uk
TASC http://tascwheel.com
Centre for Nonviolent Communication www.cnvc.org
Medical peace work. Online course work, course
part Health professionals, conflicts and peace.
Berlin: Medical Peace Work, 2015.
http://www.medicalpeacework.org/teaching-
resources/mpw-presentations.html
References
Bellis, M. A., Hughes, K., Perkins, C., Bennett, A. M.,
Protecting people, promoting health: a public health
approach to violence prevention for England. London:
NHS. and Department of Health, 2012.
World Health Organization. (2014). Global status report on
violence prevention 2014.
http://www.who.int/violence_injury_prevention/violence/status_
report/2014/en/ update on WHO (2002). World report on
violence and health. Geneva, WHO
Galtung J (1996). Peace by peaceful means: peace and
conflict, development and civilisation. London, Prio/Sage.
Mercy J et al. (1993). Public health policy for preventing
violence. Health Affairs. Winter:7-29.
Rosenberg M (2003). Nonviolent communication: a
language of life. Encinitas, CA, Puddle Dancer Press.
Santa Barbara J, MacQueen G (2004). Peace through
health: key concepts. The Lancet 364:384-5.