VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN - PRIORITIES FOR PUBLIC-HEALTH RESEARCH IN NEW-ZEALAND

Violence against women is a significant public health problem. However , little is known about the most effective ways of reducing the conseq uent mortality, morbidity and disability. Given both the paucity of re search in this area and limited resources, there is a need to identify priorities for research that have the support of caregivers, survivor s of violence, policy makers and researchers. This paper presents the results of a national process of consultation, which was successful in identifying five priority areas for research in New Zealand. These ar eas are as follows: primary prevention; improving the responsiveness o f health care professionals; economic costs of violence; incidence and prevalence; and secondary prevention.