Other Injury Research Projects

Integrating Qualitative and Quantitative Methods in Longitudinal Measurement and Analysis

The mission of the Family Life Project is to better understand how child characteristics, family life, and community support interact and contribute to the growth and development of young children. This sub-study of the Family Life Project seeks to use innovative ways of combining quantitative and qualitative methods to examine child injury. This sub-study has resulted in one completed manuscript and another in preparation. Findings were presented at the Pediatric Academic Societies Meeting held in Toronto, Ontario on May 6, 2007.

Key Personnel:

Margaret Burchinal, PhD (PI); Debra Skinner, PhD; Adam Zolotor, MD, MPH

Other institutions:

Pennsylvania State University

Funding:

Maternal and Child Health Bureau

Contact:

Adam Zolotor, MD

ajzolo@email.unc.edu

Correlation Between Mortality Caused by Non-intentional Injuries and Economic Indicators in Eastern European Countries formerly under Soviet Influence

Mortality rates in the former Soviet bloc countries saw a marked dramatic fluctuation during the transition years during the periods immediately prior to and after the close of Cold War with mortality due to injuries accounting for about a one third decrease in life expectancy. The purpose of this study is to determine the correlation between economic indicators and mortality rates in Eastern European countries such as Hungary and Poland, once under Soviet domination. Further analyses will analyze the relationship between injury-related mortality and other indices of national recovery, such as health care resources. A factor more difficult to quantify, the degree of social unrest or stability, will also be accounted for in the interpretation of results. These studies will help explain the surges in mortality rates seen in former states of the Soviet Union, such as Russia, following independence. Part 1 of the study is complete. This involved finding the trends in injury mortality (unintentional and intentional) in these countries. Part 2, to take place in 2008, will involve examining the influence of e conomic indicators over injuries in former Soviet countries.

Key Personnel:

Michael Peck, MD, ScD (PI); Shrikant Bangdiwala, PhD; Shankar Viswanathan, MSc

Other Organizations or Institutions Represented:

NC Jaycee Burn Center, UNC Hospitals

Funding:

NC Jaycee Burn Center Advisory Board

Contact:

Shrikant Bangdiwala, PhD

kant@unc.edu

Prevention of Injuries and the Built Environment in Colombia

Consideration of the built environment and its influence on injury has become more and more highlighted in injury prevention work. The purpose of this project is to conduct a pilot study of the built environment in a metropolitan area of a middle-income country (Cali, Colombia), and to study its influence on the incidence of pedestrian-related deaths and homicides. This will be accomplished by using aggregate measures of the built environment and evaluating their spatiotemporal association with mortality data on homicide and pedestrian injuries. Injury mortality data collection on homicide and pedestrian fatal injuries was completed in 2006. Preliminary analyses will begin once aggregated data on the built environment are fully obtained. In 2007, data cleaning and analyses of preliminary aggregate data were begun. A new funding source, the UNC Office of the Provost, will enable acquisition of better maps for spatial analyses. It is expected that analyses will be completed sometime in 2008.

Key Personnel:

Andrés Villaveces, MD, PhD (PI); Daniel Rodriguez, PhD

Other Organizations or Institutions Represented:

UNC Department of City and Regional Planning

Funding:

University Research Council

UNC Office of the Provost

National Center for Injury Prevention and Control

Contact:

Andrés Villaveces, MD, PhD

avillav@unc.edu

History of Injury Prevention and Control

The injury field as we think of it today is just over 30 years old; however, people have been involved with injury prevention for far longer. To date, no one has captured the breadth of these efforts nor has anyone examined injury prevention and control from an in-depth and global perspective. The purpose of this project is to write a book-length manuscript on the history of the discipline of injury prevention and control. This includes: 1) studying the origins of the field within public health; 2) reviewing preventive approaches to injuries and violence problems during the twentieth century; 3) reviewing the process of institutionalization of injury prevention and control activities in six countries; and 4) comparing them with the USA by means of information provided using oral histories from leaders in the field. Preliminary data on the history of injuries has been collected and a manuscript outline has been developed. Initially, a series of short manuscripts will be written on different injury topics. One manuscript has been submitted which discusses early 20th century views about child abuse and its prevention. In addition, a review of the evolution of concepts of injury prevention from the 19th century through the 21 st will presented at the IX World Conference on Injury Prevention and Safety Promotion in Merida, Mexico, in March 2008.

Key Personnel:

Andrés Villaveces, MD, PhD (PI); Eric Casteel, MA; Carol W. Runyan, MPH, PhD

Other Organizations or Institutions Represented:

None

Funding:

National Center for Injury Prevention and Control

Contact:

Andrés Villaveces, MD, PhD

avillav@unc.edu

Ongoing Research Support and Technical Assistance to the Home Safety Council

UNC IPRC provides scientific information derived from research on home safety to the Home Safety Council to inform programmatic and policy decisions about home safety concerns for unintentional injury and to provide the research base to support the development of proposals, new program initiatives, and press releases or messages for consumers or policy makers.

In 2007, UNC IPRC investigators continued with research on home injuries among persons with disabilities, among older adults in general, and among older adults with alcohol-related injuries. Investigators helped the Home Safety Council plan a Data Summit, where experts in the injury field gathered to discuss how data systems could be improved for better use in research.

Key Personnel:

Carol W. Runyan, MPH, PhD (PI); Carri Casteel, MPH, PhD; Catherine Vladutiu, MPH

Other Organizations or Institutions Represented:

None

Funding:

Home Safety Council

Contact:

Carol W. Runyan, MPH, PhD

carol_runyan@unc.edu

North Carolina Trauma System Survey

The Office of Emergency Medical Services for the State of North Carolina requested a trauma system review which was conducted by the American College of Surgeons, Trauma System Consultation program in 2003. Part of this review included a state wide survey to assess the general awareness of North Carolina residents of the existence of Trauma Centers. In 2006, a follow-up study of this statewide survey was conducted to establish whether any change in awareness had taken place over the three year period. This follow-up study also attempted to evaluate the effectiveness of a media campaign that was launched during 2006 to raise the awareness of North Carolinians regarding location, scope and characteristics of Trauma Centers. This project is in the stage of manuscript preparation.

Key Personnel:

José Miguel Sandoval, MPhil (PI); J. Michael Bowling, PhD; Dianne Wheaton, RN, BSN, MBA

Other Organizations or Institutions Represented:

North Carolina State University
Center for Urban Affairs and Community Services, Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center

Funding:

The Duke Endowment

Contact person:

José Sandoval, MPhil

uirjms@email.unc.edu

A Description of Reported Animal-Related Motor Vehicle Collisions in North Carolina and Factors Associated with their Incidence and Severity (Student Project)

Although animal-related collisions are estimated to represent less than 7% of all crashes that occur in North Carolina, the existing evidence suggests that they are disproportionately more serious in terms of vehicle damage and severity of injury to vehicle occupants than are crashes that do not involve an animal. This study used a one year sample of reported crashes from the North Carolina Crash Data System (NCCDS), including electronic searches of the crash narratives to: 1) estimate the incidence (per licensed driver) of animal-related crashes that occur in North Carolina; 2) describe the person, animal, vehicle, crash-specific, and environmental factors that are associated with animal-related crashes; 3) describe the types of animals involved in such collisions and to associate animal size with crash severity and evasive maneuvering distributions; 4) describe the distribution of animal-related crashes according to the presence or absence of a ‘struck animal’ indicator and characterize the factors associated with miscoding and misclassification of animal-related collisions by this indicator; 5) describe the factors related to severity of occupant injury in animal-related crashes; and 6) determine the relation between evasive maneuvering to avoid a collision with an animal and occupant injury after adjusting for the animal, vehicle, and driver characteristics. This project is in the stage of manuscript and report writing.

Key personnel:

Scott Masten, MPH (PI); Stephen W. Marshall, PhD (advisor)

Other Organizations or Institutions Represented:

None

Funding:

National Center for Injury Prevention and Control (UNC IPRC Student Small Grant)

Contact:

Scott Masten, MPH

smasten@dmv.ca.gov