Injury and
violence are a leading
cause of death and disability in the
WHO European Region.Wealth is a major determinant of
health, and there is a steep
social gradient of ill
health due toinjuries and
violence. People in low- and middle-
income countries and more deprived people inhigh-
income countries are worse off. Social and
economic policies affect families’ susceptibility toinjury by affecting social and physical
environments. This
policy briefing summarizes evidence onthe socioeconomic
safety divide from a large
systematic review. It then provides messages for
policy-makers,
researchers and
public health advocates and
safety planners on what can be done toaddress this
safety divide. Action for preventing
injury and
violence needs to be intersectoral.
Governments need to aim for
equity across all types of
government policies to
address the unevendistribution of
injuries. Action
needs to be taken both to reduce
injuries and
violence universally in the
population using passive interventions to make the social and physical environmentinherently safer and to target
disadvantaged populations. Addressing this important cause ofinequity in
health is a matter of
social justice.