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Areas of Focus

Global Injury Prevention

The U-M Injury Prevention Center has expertise in global injury prevention. Center members are working to help address the burden of injury on a global scale. These activities seek to bring together researchers with global opportunities and identifying funding opportunities to expand the Center’s reach and influence beyond the US, and provide an opportunity for an international experience for trainees. Injury Prevention Center members are currently very active in Brazil and Ghana,and are also engaged in activities in Scandinavia, the United Kingdom, Eastern Europe, and Australia.

Below you’ll find links to more information about our work in this area, as well as a listing of members doing work or interested in this area. We invite you to explore and join us as we move forward to advance research and prevention.

Global Injury Prevention Work

Injury is a global problem.  Every day, the lives of more than 14,000 people worldwide are cut short as a result of an injury. This translates in five million injury deaths each year. These deaths account for 9% of the world’s deaths, nearly 1.7 times the number of fatalities that result from HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, and malaria combined. Road traffic injuries (RTIs) are the leading cause of death worldwide among those aged 15 to 29 years and are predicted to go from its standing as the 9th leading cause of death currently to the 7th leading cause of death in 2030.

The millions of deaths that result from injuries represent only a small fraction of those injured. Tens of millions of people suffer injuries that lead to hospitalization, emergency department, or general practitioner treatment, or treatment that does not involve formal medical care. University of Michigan Injury Center members are working to help address the burden of injury on a global scale.  These activities also provide an opportunity for an international experience for trainees.

Dr. Ron Maio, original founder of the U-M Injury Prevention Center’s predecessor organization and global injury researcher, leads the Center’s activities related to global injury prevention efforts, seeking to bring together researchers with global opportunities and identifying funding opportunities to expand the Center’s reach and influence beyond the US.

The University of Michigan has several international platforms from which it engages in international research, including health-related research.  Injury Center members are currently very active in the Brazil Platform and the Ghana Platform. Injury Prevention Center members are also engaged in activities in Scandinavia, the United Kingdom, Eastern Europe, and Australia.

Brazil

Denise  G. Tate, PhD, Professor of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation (PM&R) and Associate Chair for Research of PM&R, is leading investigators from the Medical School , the School of Public Health, and the University of Michigan Transportation Research Institute in a collaboration with the Faculdade de Medicina da Universidade de Sao Paulo, Brazil. 

This collaboration includes research on building common metrics in rehabilitation care through the development of common datasets for spinal cord injury as well as improving assessments of the elderly to determine competence for driving motor vehicles. Tate and collaborators recently published a paper on Clinics on driving evaluation methods (Clinics 2015).

Ghana

The Ghana Emergency Medicine Collaborative began in 2007 and is funded by the Medical Education Partnership Initiative of the National Institutes of Health Fogarty International Center, with additional support from the University of Michigan Department of Emergency Medicine and the University of Michigan Center for Global Health.

The Ghana Emergency Medicine Collaborative includes the following partners: Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST), Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital (KATH), Ghana College of Physicians and Surgeons, Ghana Ministry of Health, and the University of Michigan Department of Emergency Medicine.

Additional Research and Training Opportunities

A spectrum of injury-related research has been conducted through the Collaborative including descriptive studies, trauma outcome studies, and development of a trauma registry.  Dr. Rocky Oteng, Instructor in Emergency Medicine at University of Michigan, conducted developed the trauma registry and conducted the trauma outcome study during his year as a Fogarty Research Fellow. His current focus of injury research in Ghana is the treatment and prevention of traumatic brain injury (TBI).  Recently a University of Michigan M-4, Andrew Gardner, completed a Fogarty Research Scholarship that consisted of a prospective observational to determine the frequency of positive alcohol tests and alcohol misuse among trauma patients in the ED. Current injury-related research foci of the collaborative are the treatment and prevention of TBI treatment and prevention of alcohol and drug related injuries and the prevention of Road Traffic Injuries (RTIs).

Additionally, researchers at the University of Michigan Injury Prevention Center created a healthcare student and provider training on identification and response to intimate partner violence (IPV) and sexual violence against women in low-to-middle-income countries. The violence against women (VAW) training was developed in collaboration with the World Health Organization (WHO), Johns Hopkins University, and an international advisory board. The knowledge- and skills-building training was adapted from the WHO Clinical Handbook on Health care for women subjected to IPV or sexual violence, published in 2014. The training emphasizes effective communication skills and first-line support using the LIVES response: Listen, Inquire, Validate, Enhance Safety, and Support. The training is made up of 8 modules including IPV survivor story, discussion, and role-play to simulate provider-patient interaction. The training package includes a facilitator’s guide, slides, and handouts for participants.

Dr. Vijay Singh delivered the 2-hour training to 200 1st-year medical students at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) School of Medical Sciences in Kumasi, Ghana. The training was additionally delivered to 84 physicians, resident physicians, nurses, midwives, and hospital chaplain at the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital (KATH) in Kumasi, Ghana. These trainings were arranged in partnership with the Ghana-Michigan Emergency Medicine Collaborative, KATH healthcare staff, and local police domestic violence unit. He delivered pre/post surveys to capture immediate effects of the training on preparation, confidence, and knowledge about identification and response to VAW. Preliminary findings indicate that after the training students and providers had increased preparation, confidence and knowledge about VAW identification and response. Feedback from participants also indicated an appreciation for survivor story, role-play active learning techniques, and a desire for additional training to build-up their skill sets. A more in-depth evaluation is underway. The results of these pilot trainings will inform revisions to the WHO VAW curriculum.

This training evaluation received funding from the WHO, U-M Center for Research on Learning and Teaching, U-M Institute for Research on Women and Gender, and Department of Emergency Medicine at U-M Medical School. Photos shown here are from the KNUST and KATH trainings.

Core Faculty and Practitioners with Expertise in Global Injury Prevention

Please click on a faculty/practitioner’s name to access their full profile with research interests and funded projects.

Bell Sue Anne800
Sue Anne Bell

Clinical Associate Professor, Health Behavior and Biological Sciences, U-M School of Nursing

Denise Tate
Denise G. Tate

Professor, Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, U-M Medical School

Resnicow
Ken Resnicow

Irwin Rosenstock Professor, Health Behavior and Health Education, University of Michigan School of Public Health

Singh
Vijay Singh

Assistant Professor, Emergency Medicine, U-M Medical School

Maio
Ronald Maio

Professor Emeritus, Emergency Medicine, U-M Medical School

Maureen Walton headshot
Maureen Walton

Research Core Director, Injury Prevention Center, University of Michigan

SoN, Jaime Meyers
Michelle L. Munro-Kramer

Johnson & Johnson Nurse Innovation Fellow, School of Nursing, University of Michigan

Members with Interest/Expertise in Global Injury Prevention

  • Abdul-Fatawu Shaibu
    Guidance and counseling
  • Ajmal Khan Khoso, MPH
    National Highways & Motorway Police
  • Andrew Olemgbe
    Evolv Technology
  • Anna Jose, MD
    Jawaharlal Nehru Medical College, Sawangi, India
  • Anne Lee, MD
    University of Michigan
  • Bayu Satria Wiratama, PhD
    Faculty of Medicine, Public Health, and Nursing, Universitas Gadjah Mada
  • Brandon Bond, BA
    University of Michigan
  • Carina Gronlund, PhD, MPH
    University of Michigan Institute for Social Research and School of Public Health
  • Carla Knighton, AA
    KEEPING IT SANE SUPPORT CIRCLE (k.i.s.s.c.)
  • Cecil Edward Byrnes
    Marlette & Sanilac Ambulance Services / Marlette Fire Department
  • Chad Engelhardt
    Goethel Engelhardt, PLLC and Western Michigan University Cooley Law School
  • Chastity Flint, BSN, RN
    Driscoll Health Plan
  • Chelsea Moore, MSN
    University of Michigan
  • Chigozie Agwuncha, BTech
    University of Michigan
  • Christian Lumaj
    University of Michigan
  • Christina Cameron, MSN
    Bronson Methodist Hospital
  • Coco Rios Escobar, BA
    University of Michigan School of Public Health
  • Cynthia Miller, MSN
    Bronson Methodist Hospital
  • Damilola Abiodun, NVQ
    Bin omran
  • Daniel Griffith, MBA
    Virginia University of Lynchburg
  • Daniel Gyaase, MPhil
    Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology
  • David Baca, PhD
    Intercultural Conflict Resolutions, LLC
  • Devendra Kumar, PhD
    Indian Institute of Technology
  • Diamond Buchanan
    Diamond Buchanan
  • Dipa Gurung Rai
    John Maxwell
  • Dominique Leibbrandt, PhD
    Stellenbosch University
  • Dr. Alex Joseph
    SRM School of Public Health, SRM Institute of Science and Technolog,y Kattankulathur, India
  • Duaa Noureddine, BA
    Caritas Lebanon
  • Ebo Essilfie-Amoah, MS
    Ebo Essilfie-Amoah
  • Elyse Thulin, MS
    University of Michigan