Funded Injury Control Research Centers (ICRCs)

Overview

For more than a quarter-century, the University of North Carolina Injury Prevention Research Center (UNC IPRC) has transformed and advanced the field of injury control. Since its creation in 1986, IPRC has conducted a multitude of high-quality research studies that have radically advanced a diverse range of injury and violence topics, including: traumatic brain injury, dating violence, abusive head trauma, child abuse and neglect, residential fire fatality, intimate partner violence, and occupational violence. IPRC has advanced the evidence base of injury and violence prevention through interventions addressing dating violence, child maltreatment prevention programs, falls prevention programs for older adults and injury prevention programs in youth sports clubs and military settings. IPRC has trained and educated over a thousand practitioners, advocates, and junior scientists. IPRC’s policy impacts include state laws addressing transportation safety, fire safety, and concussions and position statements that set the standard for clinical practice.

The Mission of IPRC is to build the field of injury and violence prevention and control through a combination of interdisciplinary scholarly approaches to research, intervention, and evaluation, and through training the next generation of researchers and practitioners. Our Vision is a world in which injury and violence prevention professionals work collaboratively with local and global communities to implement effective solutions that reduce the occurrence and impact of injury and violence.

Organizationally, UNC IPRC operates as a freestanding Center within the UNC Office of Research, and has strong linkages to many research units and academic departments in the UNC system. External advisors provide periodic guidance while an interdisciplinary Senior Advisory Committee offers on-going, high-level support and assistance on campus. Core faculty and staff meet regularly to develop and implement research projects and refine outreach and training programs that translate research into practice and policy.

IPRC research activities are focused on six program areas: Motor Vehicle-Related Injury, Violence Against Children & Youth, Prescription Medicine Overdose, Traumatic Brain Injury, Intimate Partner Violence,and Falls in Older Adults. IPRC develops, nurtures, and sustains innovative research teams in each of the six areas. These program areas are overseen by Program Area Leaders.

Throughout its history, IPRC has focused research translation as an area of special emphasis. IPRC has developed innovative techniques for translating scientific research into tangible changes in policies and practice. Our enhanced capacity for research translation reflects our significant staff expertise and history in this area, and also our long-standing collaborations with the Injury and Violence Prevention Branch in the Division of Public Health, North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services.