Public Health Wales to contribute to research into the effects of violence as part of £19 million investment

Professor Mark Bellis, Director of Policy, Research and Development at Public Health Wales is to be a co-investigator for a consortium looking into how violence causes harm to physical and mental health.

The research consortium is one of three major projects which have won funding from a £19 million-plus investment from the UK Prevention Research Partnership (UKPRP).

The UKPRP is a group made up of 12 funders, including Health and Care Research Wales, who aim to contribute towards understanding and influencing social, economic and environmental factors that affect health.

The research programme, named VISION (Violence and its Impact on Health), will see Public Health Wales contribute in collaboration with the Wales Violence Prevention Unit, and other existing programmes for violence prevention around the country.

The consortium partners include academics, professionals and practitioners who will improve the measurement and analysis of data on violence through surveys and administrative data. This data will then underpin theory, policy and professional practice.

Professor Bellis said: “The harm suffered by many victims of violence impacts not just their physical health but can also cause long-lasting damage to the mental health of the victim, their families and friends.”

“It is essential we better understand how to prevent violence to improve the health of the population. This work will improve our knowledge of what is most effective for violence prevention and allow us to use this to inform changes to policy and practice, to improve population health and reduce health inequalities.

“The funding awarded by the UKPRP will enable us to deliver invaluable work in transforming the data landscape on violence, which will ultimately contribute to preventing violence and reducing the devastating impacts it can have on individuals and often whole communities.”

Michael Bowdery, Head of Programmes at Health and Care Research Wales said: “Health and Care Research Wales is proud to be a member of the UKPRP, a ground-breaking partnership which enables us to support original and life-changing prevention research through consortia like VISION.”

VISION is amongst two other recipients of five-year funding support from the second UKPRP funding round. The first round, from which outcomes were announced in May 2019, saw five of the eight projects funded involve researchers from across Welsh universities and health organisations.

To find out more about the initiative, visit the UKPRP website.