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RESEARCH

Overview
Current Research Projects

 

Utilizing a community-based approach, BCIRPU research activities involve health care providers and consumers in all aspects of the research projects. With expertise in epidemiology, health promotion and education, preventive medicine, psychology and public health, BCIRPU acts as a core hub for applied research that is aimed at developing effective community-based injury prevention strategies. Initiatives include a comprehensive review of the literature on the effectiveness of injury prevention interventions, evaluation of injury reduction strategies and population-based studies on the determinants of injury.

Epidemiology
To identify individual and population level risks that can be targeted by appropriate intervention.

Health Promotion

Interventions are strategies of programs designed to affect and/or change the course of an undesirable health trend. Intervention research asks:

  • what are past and present approaches to injury prevention?
  • how effective were/are they?

Dissemination
Research

To help gather and make use of this research, we need to coordinate injury efforts provincially and disseminate our findings

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Current Research Projects

 

     

Injury Indicators for Children and Youth in Canada

Contact: Shannon Piedt, spiedt@cw.bc.ca

Goal: To develop injury indicators for Canadian children and youth

Leads: Dr. Ian Pike (UBC) & Dr. Alison Macpherson (York)

Collaborators: The Canadian Injury Indicators Development Team, Safe Kids, SMARTRISK, Transport Canada, PHAC, CIHI, ACICR, CAPHC, TAC, CCC

Funders and Years: Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) (2006-2007)

Outcome: This project was highly successful and resulted in the development of 34 injury indicators in the following domains: 1) Overall  2) Health Services Implications 3) Motor Vehicle Injury 4) Sport, Recreation and Leisure 5) Other Policy-related 6) Violence and 7) Trauma Care Quality and Outcome. Indicators were agreed upon by injury researchers, practitioners and policy makers. The indicators will be available for use through a published report in spring 2010.

 

Child and Youth Policy Indicators

Contact: Shannon Piedt, spiedt@cw.bc.ca

Goal: To evaluate four injury prevention policy indicators: 1) child restraint legislation,  2) graduated licensing legislation,  3) bicycle helmet legislation and 4) the presence of coordinated pediatric trauma services

Leads: Dr. Mariana Brussoni(UBC), Dr. Ian Pike(UBC) & Dr. Alison Macpherson(York)

Collaborators: BC Ministry of Healthy Living & Sport, Nova Scotia Dept. of Health Promotion & Protection, TAC, Safe Kids, SMARTRISK

Funders and Years: CIHR, CYHRNet, BC Child Health, and Public Health Agency of Canada (2008-2011)

Projected Outcome: Each of these indicators is being evaluated on three levels: policy level, the risk factor level and the outcome level.   Quantitative data are being collected on bike helmet use and graduated driver licensing behaviours. An injury prevention policy scoring tool is being developed through this project.

 

First Nations and Inuit Children and Youth Injury Indicators Project

Contact: Shannon Piedt, spiedt@cw.bc.ca

Goal: To develop national injury indicators specific to children and youth in First Nations and Inuit populations.

Leads: Dr. Ian Pike (UBC) & Dr. Alison Macpherson (York)

Collaborators: Assembly of First Nations, Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami, FNIHB, Regional Longitudinal Health Survey, RCMP, Indian and Northern Affairs, SMARTRISK, Plan-It-Safe, Canadian Red Cross, Katenies Research and Management Services, Statistics Canada, Nunatsiavut Dep’t of Health and Social Development, and Pauktuutit Inuit Women of Canada

Funders and Years: First Nations and Inuit Health Branch (FNIHB) (2006 – 2009)

Outcome: The 27 injury indicators will be available for use through a published report in spring 2010.

 

First Nations and Inuit Child and Youth Injury Dashboards

Contact: Shannon Piedt, spiedt@cw.bc.ca

Goal: To plan the design, look, and feel of an online dashboard that would feature the injury indicators in a useful way

Leads: Dr. Ian Pike (UBC) & Dr. Alison Macpherson (York)

Collaborators: Assembly of First Nations, Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami, FNIHB, Regional Longitudinal Health Survey, Canadian Red Cross, Katenies Research and Management Services, Statistics Canada, and Pauktuutit Inuit Women of Canada

Funders and Years: FNIHB, Child and Youth Health Research Network, and CIHR (2009)

Outcome: Further funds are being sought to develop an online dashboard for First Nations and Inuit child and youth injury indicators

 

Injury in BC’s Aboriginal Communities: Building Capacity While Developing Knowledge

Contact: Dr. Mariana Brussoni, mbrussoni@cw.bc.ca

Goal: This project seeks to compare injury rates across Aboriginal communities; explore risk and protective factors; and establish community-based injury surveillance for the development of culturally appropriate intervention strategies.

Leads: Drs. Chris Lalonde(UVic) & Anne George(UBC)

Co-Investigator: Dr. Mariana Brussoni(UBC)

Collaborators: UBC, UVIC, the Inter-Tribal Health Authority and various Aboriginal communities in BC

Funders and Years: Canadian Institutes for Health Research (2007-2010)

Projected Outcome: Establishment of sustainable, long-term community based injury surveillance in participating communities. Research articles on Aboriginal community-based research and the community-level injury risk and protective factors.  

 

Fathers’ Child Injury Prevention Attitudes and Practices

Contact: Dr. Mariana Brussoni, mbrussoni@cw.bc.ca

Goal: To understand the range and scope of fathers’ safety practices with their 2 to 7 year old children; and examine fathers’ use of safety information and resources

Lead: Dr. Mariana Brussoni(UBC)

Collaborators: Drs. Lise Olsen, Anne George, BC Council for Families

Funders and years: Vancouver Foundation (2008-2010)

Projected Outcome: Ability to tailor and improve safety promotion programs targeted at fathers. The results will also be directly applied to existing parenting programs.

 

      BC Burden of Injury Study

Contact: Dr. Mariana Brussoni, mbrussoni@cw.bc.ca

Goal: To understand individual and contextual factors that affect injury rehabilitation across injury types; estimate quality of life changes from pre-injury to 12 months post-injury across different injury types; estimate personal costs, costs of health care service utilization, and costs to the economy and labour market

Lead: Dr. Mariana Brussoni(UBC)

Funders: Michael Smith Foundation for Health Research

Projected Outcome: Developing a cost-effective method of conducting on-going patient follow-up for injured patients seen in Canadian hospitals. Additional data to assist with determining the actual cost of injury in Canada.

 

   Exploring the safety perceptions and preventive behaviours of parents with children with disabilities and chronic conditions:

Contact: Dr. Mariana Brussoni, mbrussoni@cw.bc.ca

Goal: To understand parents’ concerns related to child safety; how they manage safety concerns; and facilitators and barriers to safety efforts

Lead: Dr. Lise Olsen (UBC)

Collaborators: Drs. Mariana Brussoni, Anton Miller & Maureen O’Donnell (UBC)

Funders and years: BC Children’s Hospital Telethon

Projected Outcome: Improvement of safety-related resources for parents of children with disabilities and chronic conditions. Better understanding of considerations needed for children at greater risk of injury.

 

Shaken Baby Syndrome Project Surveillance Team

Contact: Fahra Rajabali, frajabali@cw.bc.ca

Goal: This project aims to provide province wide implementation of the Period of PURPLE crying program for the prevention of abusive traumatic brain injury among infants. The main objective of the surveillance team is to evaluate the efficiency and effectiveness of this program. The evaluation takes the form of active and passive surveillance as well as quality improvement procedures.  

Leads: Dr. Ronald Barr

Co-investigators: Dr. Ian Pike (UBC) & Dr. Ash Singhal (BC Children’s Hospital)

Funders and Years: Ministry of Child and Family Development (2007-2011)

Projected Outcome: Understanding the effectiveness of the Period of PURPLE Crying program to (a) reach targeted groups; (b) reduce shaken baby syndrome and abusive injury in infants generally; and (c) achieve a cultural change in the community’s understanding of early crying and its relationship to shaking.

 

Commentary on barriers for walking and cycling in our communities

Contact: Dr.Edi Desapriya, edesap@cw.bc.ca

Goal: To identify barriers to active lifestyles in our communities

Lead: Dr. Edi Desapriya (UBC)

Collaborators: Dr. Sayed Subzwari (UBC), Deborah Susges (UTO), Giulia Scime (BCIRPU)

Funders and years: Not applicable

Projected Outcome: Evidence based practices that reduce barriers to active lifestyles will be identified.

 

Obesity and motor vehicle injuries-Meta-Analysis and Systematic Review

Contact: Dr.Edi Desapriya, edesap@cw.bc.ca

Goal: To identify whether obesity is a determinant of injury and mortality among individuals involved in motor vehicle crashes (MVCs)

Lead: Dr. Edi Desapriya (UBC)

Collaborators: Dr. Sayed Subzwari (UBC), Deborah Susges (UTO), Kate Turcotte (BCIRPU)

Funders and years: Not applicable

Projected Outcome: This research will quantify the risk of MVC-related injury and mortality sustained by obese vehicle occupants as compared to those who are of normal body stature.

 

Injury Prevention in Child Death Review: Child Pedestrian Fatalities

Contact: Dr.Edi Desapriya, edesap@cw.bc.ca

Goal: To demonstrate the unique capacity for child death review to provide comprehensive ecological data on fatal injury events and inform injury prevention practice and policy. Child pedestrian fatalities were chosen as the dataset.

Collaborators: BC Child Death Review Unit (CDRU), Dr. Ian Pike (UBC), Giulia Scime (BCIRPU)

Funders and years: Not applicable

Projected Outcome: This research will empirically show how child death review data can be utilized to inform pediatric unintentional injury prevention in British Columbia.

 

Reducing occupant injury in rear end collisions

Contact: Dr.Edi Desapriya, edesap@cw.bc.ca

Goals: 1) Develop new strategies to better implement existing knowledge into practice, and 2) Develop new knowledge and technology to both remove the role of the operator from the safety system and to enhance occupant protection through the design of future vehicle/occupant integrated active whiplash mitigation systems.   

Leads: Dr. Doug Romilly (UBC)

Co-investigators: Dr. Marc White (UBC), Dr. Dinithi C Peiris (BCIRPU), Dr. Jean-Sebastian Blouin (UBC), Dr. Peter Lawrence (UBC), Dr. Gunter Siegmund (UBC), Dr. Anne Snowdon (U of Windsor)

Funders and Years: Auto 21-Network of Centers of Excellence Canada (2009-2011)

Projected Outcome: Strategies to prevent motor vehicle crash related neck and whiplash injuries.

 

Child infant safety seat outside vehicle use-related injuries in Canada

Contact: Dr.Edi Desapriya, edesap@cw.bc.ca

Goal: To identify demographic and other risk factors of infant child safety seat outside vehicle use-related injuries from the CHIRPP national data base

Co-investigators: Dr. Ash Singhal (BC Children’s Hospital) and Dr. Ian Pike (UBC)

Funders and years: BC Children’s Hospital Telethon grant (2009-2010)

Projected Outcome: This research will highlight demographic and other risk factors related to child infant safety when used outside of vehicles. Evidence-based practices to reduce these types of injuries will be provided.

 

Too Hot for Tots Evaluation

Contact: Kate Turcotte, kturcotte@cw.bc.ca

Goal: To evaluate the Too Hot for Tots burns prevention DVD Package

Leads: Frances MacDougall & Dr. Shelina Babul (UBC)

Funders and Years: BCCH Pediatric Plastic Surgery and the Non-Fire Fighters Burn Fund, 2010

Outcome: A new DVD package has been produced out of BC Children’s Hospital to address and acknowledge the need for burns prevention materials for the parents of young children. This evaluation will assess the ability of this prevention program to change parents’ knowledge, attitudes and behaviours in relation to burns prevention, and to compare two methods of dissemination: Public Health Nurse information session versus on-line access.

 

Note: Archived Research Projects and Publications can be found in the Library.

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