Cardiff University Professor receives Thailand’s Prince Mahidol Award for global contribution to reducing violence.

Jonathan Shepherd, Professor Emeritus of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery and author of the Cardiff Model for Violence Prevention, has received the International Prince Mahidol Award in Public Health for his groundbreaking work to prevent violence.

The award recognises the global impact of Professor Shepherd’s work, and his unwavering commitment to making communities safer through scientific innovation and evidence-based strategies.

In his PhD research, Professor Shepherd discovered that most violence which leads to emergency hospital treatment is not known to police – a finding which has since been confirmed around the world.

Recognising that this information from hospital emergency departments (EDs) could help prevent violence, and that prevention needed to be led by health, police and city government executives working together, Professor Shepherd created the Cardiff Violence Prevention Board in 1996.

He also initiated ED software changes to allow data about violence to be recorded, anonymised, shared, combined with police data, and used by the Board which he chaired until 2017 when a senior ED doctor succeeded him.

After rigorous evaluation, this process was adopted as business as usual in Cardiff in 2001. It soon became known as the ‘Cardiff Model for Violence Prevention’ and was implemented across other UK cities. According to data on serious violence from the group of cities designated by the Home Office as “most similar” to Cardiff, the capital city of Wales became the safest city in the group in 2007.

'The Cardiff Model' first became government policy in 2008. It has been implemented widely in the UK, including in London where all 29 EDs record and share Cardiff Model data. It has also been implemented in Australia, the Netherlands, South Africa, Colombia, Jamaica, and the United States.

The US federal public health agency, the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention, published its Cardiff Model toolkit in 2017 and initiated the National US Cardiff Network – of more than 20 US cities in 2024 - to drive implementation there. The Model has been endorsed by The World Health Organization (WHO) and is a WHO INSPIRE strategy for preventing violence against children.

For the UK Government’s report of the Award, Professor Shepherd said:

"I am delighted and honoured to be the Prince Mahidol Award laureate in Public Health, especially when 170 years of bilateral UK Thailand relations are celebrated. The Cardiff Model for Violence Prevention demonstrates the impact of a public health solution to this universal problem and is recognised globally through this Award."

Professor Shepherd was selected by an international panel from a pool of 73 nominees representing 29 countries. The Award was presented at Thailand’s Royal Palace, by Her Royal Highness Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn in a spectacular event attended by the UK and US Ambassadors to Thailand. A banquet followed which was attended by Thailand’s prime minister, diplomatic corps and privy council.