Overview

Mission statement

The Mission of the UAB Injury Control Research Center is to help the nation achieve a significant reduction in the rate of injuries and their resulting deaths and disabilities, especially in the southeastern United States. Our mission follows directly from the injury prevention-related goals of Healthy People 2010: to reduce injuries, disabilities and deaths due to unintentional injuries and violence; and, correspondingly, is consistent with the National Center for Injury Prevention and Control’s goal of reducing injuries and their resulting deaths and disabilities. The UAB ICRC is accomplishing its mission through the development of new and improved approaches for preventing injuries and reducing their negative outcomes. By doing so, we are working to help reduce immeasurable human suffering as well as the staggering medical and societal costs resulting from injuries.

Specific Aims

• Conduct research that advances our basic understanding of injury.
• Apply the results of research (both our own and the research of others) to the practice of injury prevention and control.
• Advocate for the integration of research results into the practice of injury prevention and control.
• Train future injury researchers and practitioners in relevant, appropriate and state-of-the-art research procedures.
• Train future public health professionals in the elements of evidence-informed practice, particularly as it relates to injury prevention and control.

Theme
The theme for the 2004-2009 funding cycle is Injury Over The Life Course. The chart below shows the projects proposed, and how they fit within the theme:

Since it was adopted in 2004, the theme Injury Over the Lifecourse has served the UAB-ICRC well. Social circumstances, family situations, work environments, experiences, race, gender, class, and place also provide important clues about the etiology of injury; about how and why some people are more susceptible to injury; and about how to develop and implement programs that have the greatest potential for success in preventing injury and in helping people to recover from injuries. A central concept in lifecourse analysis is the cohort of individuals who attain a given status at a particular time. Different cohorts encounter different histories as they move through the lifecourse and these different experiences, especially during their formative years, affect how they view and react to their world during the rest of their lives. It is difficult to understand how and why the prevalence of injury and the effectiveness of injury prevention programs change over time and across the lifespan without understanding the biopsychosocial, environmental, and historical context and experiences of those who are most susceptible to injury. Our multidisciplinary approach will facilitate studies of childhood, adolescent, early adult, middle adult and late adult.