An ad hoc planning committee under the auspices of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine will plan a two-day public workshop to explore opportunities to improve our understanding of violence and its prevention both in the US and globally. This workshop would explore the involvement and contribution of both interpersonal and self-directed violence to syndemics in the U.S. and around the world. Workshop presentations and discussion topics will include identifying the gaps in our understanding of the interconnections between violence and other public health issues such as the opioid epidemic and how we can make better use of our current evidence base to inform prevention strategies that have a synergistic preventive impact on these important public health problems. Additional workshop presentations and discussion topics may include:

• Examples of syndemics in other parts of the world and what we can learn from the global experience to help us better respond at the national level.
• Intersection between violence against children, suicide, substance abuse, and health conditions such as HIV.
• Relationship between the opioid overdose epidemic and child abuse and neglect, interpersonal violence, and sexual violence.
• Evidence base for policies and programs with the potential for synergistic effects and those that promote resilience across the syndemic.

The planning committee will develop the workshop agenda, select and invite speakers and discussants, and moderate the discussions. Experts will be drawn from the public and private sectors as well as academic institutions to allow for multi-lateral, evidence-based discussions. A proceedings in brief of the presentations and discussions at the workshop will be prepared by a designated rapporteur in accordance with institutional guidelines.