In a first of its kind study, a new paper from researchers at Harborview Injury Prevention and Research Center assessed implementation and effectiveness of hospital care guidelines for pediatric traumatic brain injury.
Co-authors on the study affiliated with HIPRC include associate member Mary A. King, M.D., Research Assistant Scott Erickson, BA, Research Scientist Brianna Mills, Ph.D., Research Consultant Qian Qiu, MBA, and associate members Randall Chesnut, M.D., Kenneth Jaffe, M.D. and Brian Johnston, M.D.
Lead author on the study was Erin Morgan, doctoral student in the UW Department of Epidemiology, and contributing authors include HIPRC Violence Prevention section lead Ali Rowhani-Rahbar, M.D., PH.D., core member Fred Rivara, M.D., MPH, and Anthony Gomez, Manager of the Violence and Injury Prevention Unit at Public Health Seattle and King County.
Study: Fatality rates are decreasing after motor vehicle crashes – but not after firearm injuries
A new study from HIPRC researchers indicates that while the United States has seen a reduction in case-fatality percentage for motor vehicle crash injuries, those reductions are not translating to firearm injuries.
Several HIPRC faculty have been nominated for the University of Washington Distinguished Teaching Awards for 2019.
Violence Prevention section lead Ali Rowhani-Rahbar, M.D., Ph.D., core member Mary Fan, JD, M.Phil., and associate member Mark Sullivan, M.D., Ph.D., are all up for the university-wide honor. Recipients are selected by the UW’s Center for Teaching and Learning based on excellent in their subject matter, teaching students inside and outside the classroom, and innovation in process and curriculum design. Read more about the nominations on the HIPRC blog.
Webinar on fall prevention, TBI, and older adults available online
The TBI Topics Webinar “Fall Prevention & TBI Among Older Adults” is now available to view online. HIPRC core member Hilaire Thompson, Ph.D., RN, and community health provider Paige Denison, Director of Project Enhance and the Health and Wellness Department at Sound Generations, presented a broad spectrum look at TBI, older adults, and fall prevention.
Thompson’s presentation included the clinical view of traumatic brain injury among older adults, which is most commonly caused by falls. Denison’s presentation offered a deep look at Project Enhance, a community-based exercise program with strong applications to fall prevention. Watch the webinar now at the HIPRC website.
The webinar series is a joint initiative of HIPRC and the Washington State Department of Health.
Chronic opioid use focus of new grant to HIPRC trainee
The Alcohol and Drug Abuse Institute at the University of Washington (UW) has awarded Vivian Lyons, a doctoral student in the Department of Epidemiology and a trainee at HIPRC, with a $20,000 grant to study the association between injuries, treatment and chronic opioid and benzodiazepine use in Washington State.
Lyons will use the funds to create a database of trauma patients in Washington State from 2014-2017, including a one-year, post-injury follow up of these patients, that will allow her and her colleagues to study the association between individual, injury and treatment characteristics that could lead to the development of chronic prescription opioid and benzodiazepine use. Read the complete release from the UW Department of Epidemiology.
Event Calendar
Jan. 9, (Wednesday) 1 p.m. PST: Work-in-Progress: “Laparoscopy for the diagnosis and management of blunt abdominal trauma in children” with Elissa Butler, M.D.
Jan. 16, (Wednesday) 1 p.m. PST: Work-in-Progress: “Health Concerns for Families Experiencing Homelessness in King County” with Joe Sherman, M.D., Health Services Director for Mary’s Place
Jan. 23, (Wednesday) 1 p.m. PST: Work-in-Progress: “Peri-implant fracture following fixation of a femoral fragility fracture” with William Lack, M.D.
Jan. 30, (Wednesday) 1 p.m. PST: Work-in-Progress: “Evaluation of State Earned Income Tax Credit Policies for the Primary Prevention of Multiple Forms of Violence: A Natural Experiment” with Ali Rowhani-Rahbar, M.D., Ph.D.
Feb. 9, (Saturday) 9-11 a.m. PST: Stop the Bleed training at Harborview Medical Center. This free course teaches bleeding control first aid. Stop the Bleed Registration Required.
Unless noted otherwise, all events take place at HIPRC offices.
Harborview Injury Prevention and Research Center joined Seattle Children’s Hospital and other partners to sponsor a safe firearm storage giveaway on Dec. 15.
The event, held at Outdoor Emporium in Seattle, distributed 168 lock boxes, 27 trigger locks and 512 cable locks. Attendees could choose one free lock box or trigger lock to initiate safe firearm storage at home, and up to four free cable locks per family were also available.
Many thanks to our HIPRC volunteers Research Coordinator Laura Alonso, Graduate Research Assistant Anne Massey, Communications Officer Kelsie Cleboski, UW Dept. of Radiology Research Nurse Kellie Sheehan, Dept. of Radiology Senior Fellow Christine Rehwald, and INSIGHT alumni Alex Sorenson, Renae Tessem, and Isabella Stokes.
In the News
A concussion study led by HIPRC core member Sarah Chrisman, M.D., was featured in the UW Medicine Newsroom.
An HIPRC study led by Violence Prevention section lead Ali Rowhani-Rahbar, M.D., Ph.D., and a number of center faculty was cited in a Seattle Times article on a King County project using a public health approach to better understand gun violence.
An HIPRC study found case-fatality rates among firearm injuries didn’t improve over a decade, whereas fatality rates did improve among motor vehicle crash injuries of the same severity. The reasons aren’t clear, but researchers think it might mean firearm injuries are becoming deadlier. The study was led by former HIPRC fellow Robert Tessler, M.D., MPH, and was covered in Time.
Photo courtesy of the Ronneberg Family, via the UW Medicine Newsroom
Funding Opportunities
Call for Proposals: Health and Climate Solutions Application Deadline: Feb. 8, 2019
Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) seeks to develop and amplify the evidence around a set of approaches that improve community health and well-being and advance health equity, while also addressing climate change adaptation or mitigation. Eligible, local approaches can focus on one or more of a range of determinants of health—including, but not limited to: air quality; energy sources; transportation or mobility design; food and water systems; housing; and health systems. Proposals should specify the determinants of health that the given approach is addressing, and the expected impact on health and well-being.
NIJ Research Assistantship Program Eligibility: Doctoral students interested in applying their research to criminal justice Application Deadline: Jan. 25, 2019
The NIJ Research Assistantship Program (RAP) offers highly qualified doctoral students the opportunity to bring their expertise to NIJ to work across offices and program areas to obtain a practical and applied research experience. We welcome students from all academic disciplines to apply and connect their research to the criminal justice field.
NIJ provides funds to participating universities to pay salaries and other costs associated with research assistants who work on NIJ research activities.
NWCPHP 2018-19 Student Project Stipends Eligibility: Undergraduate juniors and seniors, graduate students, and doctoral students enrolled public health, psychology, sociology, and social work degree programs Application Deadline: Any time during fall or winter quarter of 2018-19 school year
The Northwest Public Health Training Center at NWCPHP is now accepting applications to support health professions students completing field placements and collaborative projects in Washington, Alaska, Idaho, and Oregon. A total of 20 proposals will be funded up to $3,500 each during the 2018–19 school year. Stipends are paid directly to students with the intention of defraying living expenses.
Proposals will be evaluated based on public health practice focus, attention to underserved areas and populations, and feasibility. Students are strongly encouraged to submit projects that address opioid misuse and improving mental and behavioral health.
Other Opportunities
Learning for Early Careers in Addiction andDiversity (LEAD) Program Eligibility: Assistant professor or assistant research scientist working in drug abuse and addiction Application Deadline: Jan. 31, 2019
The Learning for Early Careers in Addiction and Diversity (LEAD) Program at UCSF is looking to recruit its fifth cohort of visiting scholars to participate in this 3-year research education training program. All qualified early-stage research scientists from minority backgrounds with a research focus in substance use are highly encouraged to apply.
Call for Papers: Suicide: Prevention, Intervention and Postvention
International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health
Manuscript Submission Deadline: Aug. 31, 2019
This Special Issue is open to any subject area related to suicide prevention, intervention, and postvention. We strongly encourage submissions that demonstrate collaborative practices, with people with lived experience of suicide, service providers, and researchers.
Free CME Module: The Physician’s Role in Promoting Firearm Safety
The module from the American Medical Association is designed to assist physicians, particularly those who specialize in primary care and emergency medicine, in recognizing risk factors that increase the potential for firearm injury and death, identifying barriers to communicating with patients about firearm safety, and effectively communicating with patients to reduce the risk of firearm injury and death. Per a release, the course qualifies for AMA PRA Category 1 Credit™
Webinar: Preventing Suicide by Promoting Social Connectnedness
In this webinar, Kim Van Orden, PhD, from the Center for the Study and Prevention of Suicide at the University of Rochester, discussed the state of the science on social connectedness as an intervention target to prevent suicide. She discussed current challenges faced by researchers and practitioners in suicide prevention, including how to define and measure connectedness; clarifying the role of connectedness as an intervention target (e.g., causal factor and/or buffer or protective factor); limitations of what is known about promoting connectedness; and opportunities for the field to build a portfolio of evidence-based strategies to promote connectedness.
The study, published in The Lancet Child & Adolescent Health this month and led by HIPRC Director Monica Vavilala, M.D., examined the use of the Pediatric Guideline Adherence and Outcomes (PEGASUS) program at Harborview Medical Center. 
Children living with an adult gun owner who misuses alcohol are at increased risk of self-harm and interpersonal violence, a recent study found. Guns in such households sometimes are loaded and not safely stored, 
A new study from HIPRC researchers indicates that while the United States has seen a reduction in case-fatality percentage for motor vehicle crash injuries, those reductions are not translating to firearm injuries.
Several HIPRC faculty have been nominated for the University of Washington Distinguished Teaching Awards for 2019.
The TBI Topics Webinar “Fall Prevention & TBI Among Older Adults” is now available to view online. HIPRC core member Hilaire Thompson, Ph.D., RN, and community health provider Paige Denison, Director of Project Enhance and the Health and Wellness Department at Sound Generations, presented a broad spectrum look at TBI, older adults, and fall prevention.
The Alcohol and Drug Abuse Institute at the University of Washington (UW) has awarded Vivian Lyons, a doctoral student in the Department of Epidemiology and a trainee at HIPRC, with a $20,000 grant to study the association between injuries, treatment and chronic opioid and benzodiazepine use in Washington State.
Safe 
