Funded Injury Control Research Centers (ICRCs)

Overview

Established in 1990, the University of Iowa Injury Prevention Research Center (IPRC) aims to prevent, control, and optimize recovery from injuries and violence, especially in rural communities. Over the last five years, the IPRC has grown to include 66 researchers from 23 departments in 5 colleges, as well as a wide network of community and government collaborators. Over the next five years, the IPRC will continue its tradition of excellence in interdisciplinary research, training, outreach, and administrative supervision. The Center will be organized into a Management Team that oversees daily operations, an Executive Committee that implements our vision for the Center, four Cores, five Expert Research Teams and four small research projects. The Administrative and Research Support Core, Outreach Core, Training and Education Core, and Research Core provide services to IPRC partners, including a very successful Exploratory Research Program that is funded through institutional support. The five Expert Teams are organized around our priority research topics: Road Traffic Safety; Interpersonal Violence; Intervention and Translation Science; Rural Acute Care; and Global Injury and Violence. Teams promote the growth of research within their topic areas by linking researchers to IPRC Core services, mentoring students and junior faculty, and engaging with community partners. The IPRC will introduce several new and exciting initiatives, including a new Community Advisory Committee, a program to develop and disseminate Policy Briefs, a new Communications Plan, and newly organized partner networks. Our four independent research projects address NCIPC Priority and Emerging Priority injury topics: Translation of an evidence-based safe teen driving program into a workplace; Implementation and outcome evaluation of Iowa’s anti-bullying legislation; Testing the effectiveness of a novel program to prevent domestic violence among high-risk men; and Improved poisoning surveillance for determining control measures. These projects include Principal Investigators from Occupational and Environmental Health, Psychology, and Epidemiology and involve partners such as the Department of Corrections, local schools, and private businesses. The Center’s proposed activities constitute a broad, multidisciplinary and collaborative program in research, training, and outreach.