This manual provides a general framework for economists, public health experts and researchers interested in conducting studies that can provide an estimate of the economic burden of injuries due to interpersonal and self-directed violence. It is intended to assist countries in estimating the overall costs of injuries due to violence. Taking into account the data limitations that the majority of countries face, the manual identifies
a minimum set of data required to produce general estimates of direct medical costs and loss of productivity. In some settings, obtaining even the minimum set of data may require creative and innovative solutions. Options for further disaggregating these
estimates, and for documenting the impact of violence on quality of life, are included as additional modules for those countries or researchers wishing to capture some of the
more complex dimensions of the individual and social costs of violence. It is important to note at the outset that this manual focuses on the costing of injuries related to interpersonal and self-directed violence, and does not address the costs of
non-injury outcomes that may be long-lasting and extend throughout life. For instance, exposure to maltreatment and related stressors experienced during childhood has a strong, graded relationship to a wide variety of health and social problems from adolescence to adulthood (2,3). Such exposure has been associated with increased health service utilization and subsequent costs in adulthood (4,5). Study of the lifelong costs of interpersonal and self-directed violence is an area of great importance that has not been extensively explored. That is not the focus of this manual, however. From the Introduction