Violence and unintentional injuries each year kill more Americans between the ages of 1 and 44 than any other cause. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention hopes research from The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill can help prevent some of these injuries and fatalities.

The CDC’s National Center for Injury Prevention and Control has announced a continuation of funding for the UNC Injury Prevention Research Center (IPRC), one of 11 currently funded injury centers across the country. The funding, which will support four research studies, could total as much as $4.5 million over five years.

“It’s about putting life-saving science in the hands of the people,” said Dr. Steve Marshall, IPRC director and professor of epidemiology at UNC’s Gillings School of Global Public Health. “These funds will support outreach to state and local health departments and community groups so that they know which injury prevention programs are most effective and how to implement them.”

The projects are:

• Dr. Laura Linnan, professor of health behavior at the Gillings School, will pilot a study using beauty salons as a focal point to deliver falls prevention messaging with the hope that it will prevent falls by older adults. Linnan said beauty salons have proved effective for distribution of information regarding cancer prevention and physical activity promotion and hopes similar efforts for fall prevention will follow suit.

• Dr. Kevin Guskiewicz, Kenan Distinguished Professor of Exercise and Sport Science and senior associate dean in the College of Arts and Sciences, will lead a program that provides instruction on safe tackling techniques for high school football players to minimize concussions and mild traumatic brain injury. The program will use helmet-based technology and behavioral modifications.

• Dr. Robert Foss, senior research scientist and director at the Center for the Study of Young Drivers, will use data on police-reported crash and driver licensing to examine whether graduated driver licensing reduces prevalence of motor vehicle crashes, specifically among those in minority and economically underserved communities.

• Dr. Christopher Ringwalt, senior scientist in the Gillings School’s Department of Health Behavior, will examine the effectiveness of aspects of North Carolina’s prescription drug monitoring database. Prescription drug overdoses cause more deaths each year than any other type of injury.

The award also provides funds for two research translation cores that will increase the use of proven injury prevention strategies. This includes a training and education core, which supports a  community-based injury prevention effort in collaboration with the  Injury and Violence Prevention branch of the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services. The second translation core, the “InjuryFreeNC” partnership, is a collaborative activity with many other injury prevention organizations, including Safe Kids North Carolina.

“UNC’s Injury Prevention Research Center is a key partner in our Strategic Advisory Council and an important collaborator in the development and implementation of North Carolina’s Strategic Plan for Preventing Injuries and Violence,” said Mr. Alan Dellapenna, head of the NC Department of Health and Human Services’ injury and violence prevention branch. “We are fortunate indeed to have this CDC-funded center in our state.”

The UNC Injury Prevention Research Center has been funded continuously as a CDC Injury Control and Research Center since it was founded in 1987.

“UNC has a long history of success as one of the leading academic centers for injury prevention research,” said Dr. Barbara Entwisle, Kenan Professor and vice chancellor for research at UNC Chapel Hill. “This reflects the excellence of UNC’s faculty and the vitality and commitment of IPRC’s leadership.”

[Photo: Mr. Phil Hanson, health behavior master’s student at the Gillings School, conducted a falls prevention workshop at a N.C. beauty salon. Clients at the salon could check their balance proficiency and leg strength by standing on one foot and moving quickly from standing to seated position. Here, Mr. Hanson and a salon client review fall prevention tips developed through Dr. Laura Linnan’s BEAUTY and Health project.]