Injury and Violence Prevention

The Washington State Department of Health's (DOH) Injury and Violence Prevention (IVP) Program is founded on a basic principle: injuries and violence are preventable public health priorities.

In public health practice, injury is damage or harm to the body resulting in impairment or destruction of health. Violence is intentional injury — the use of power or force against oneself or another person. Outcomes of injury and violence can be lifelong disability, death, and trauma.

Over the past decade, more than 43,000 Washingtonians died from injury and violence (unintentional, suicide, and homicide). Historically, injury and violence-related deaths have been the leading cause of death for Washington residents ages one to 54 years old (1,469 unintentional, 781 suicide, and 188 homicide in 2019). The state also experienced a shift in injury focus when, in 2010, suicide surpassed deaths related to motor vehicle traffic (MVT) and became the leading cause of deaths in those ages 15–24 years old. IVP uses data to identify prevention priorities and develop interventions based on best practices.

Prevention Guide

You may find detailed information about evidence-based strategies and injury specific data in our Injury and Violence Prevention Guide (PDF).

Reporting Manual

Washington State Cancer Registry Reporting Handbook (PDF)

About the Injury and Violence Prevention Program

IVP oversees and implements a wide range of injury and violence prevention work. Currently, its focus areas include:

IVP coordinates with many partners across Washington state to build capacity to prevent injuries and violence. This joint work includes:

  • Identifying and focusing on populations and communities most affected by each type of injury and violence
  • Supporting local and community programs that directly address injury and violence prevention
  • Collecting, analyzing, interpreting, and sharing injury and violence data
  • Researching, evaluating, and funding evidence-informed policies and best practices
  • Developing public health messaging and supporting trainings for local, regional, state, and community-based prevention programs.

Funding Announcements

Overdose Prevention Funding for Tribal Entities

Application due date: March 3, 2025

Type of funding: Federal funding

Eligible applicants: Federally Recognized Tribes, Tribal Organizations, and Tribal Communities

Purpose: The Overdose Data to Action in States (OD2A-S) Cooperative Agreement is awarded to WA DOH through the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The following funds are available to support community-led overdose prevention initiatives for American Indian and Alaskan Native populations.

Estimated Number of Awards: 5-7

Estimated Award Amount per grantee for Year 1: $64,943-$90,920/year (excluding One-Time Federal Enhancement of up to $50,000 per selected grantee)

Estimated Award Amount for Years 2, 3 & 4: $45,895-$64,253/year

Application materials

Reference materials

*All contract agreements for these funds are expected to be subrecipient agreements, however, official determination will be made by the DOH Fiscal Monitoring Unit during contract negotiations.

For questions, please email the Injury and Violence Prevention program inbox and cc Anjali Shankar at anjali.shankar@doh.wa.gov.

Question and Answer Sessions

  • Q&A Session for Federally Recognized Tribes was held on 1/27/25
  • Q&A Session for Tribal Organizations and Communities was held on 2/6/25
  • Meeting slides (PDF)

Both sessions provided a summary of information in the request for applications (RFA) document.

General Contact Information

Phone: 360-236-2857 | Fax: 360-236-2839

To request injury data email: injury.data@doh.wa.gov.

Fill out this form to request injury data

For general questions email program staff: ivp-pch@doh.wa.gov

Mailing address

Washington State Department of Health
Injury and Violence Prevention
P.O. Box 47855
Olympia, WA 98504-7855