Fogarty International Center Announces New Collaborative Research Training Program for Trauma and Injury in the Developing World
Bethesda, Maryland The Fogarty International Center (FIC) of
the National Institutes of Health (NIH) announces a new program
to address the growing burden of morbidity and mortality in the
developing world due to trauma and injury. The program, launched
on the occasion of World Health Day 2004, is supported by FIC, seven
NIH partners*, the Center for Disease Control and Prevention's National
Center for Injury Prevention and Control, the Pan American Health
Organization, and the World Health Organization (WHO). It addresses
training across the range of basic to applied science, the epidemiology
of risk factors, acute care and survival, rehabilitation, and long-term
mental health consequences. The current combined financial commitment
from FIC and its partners is approximately $7,000,000 over five
years.
"This year World Health Day focuses on road safety, an issue
that affects men, women and children in the United States and around
the world," said FIC Acting Director Sharon Hrynkow, Ph.D.
"Our goal in this program, which contributes to raising awareness
of the human and economic costs caused by trauma and injury, is
to build skills and knowledge on how to most effectively address
these daunting problems in resource-constrained settings. Our focus
on the people and skills will have pay-off not only abroad but potentially
back home as well to the extent that new techniques are transferable."
Though often overlooked, trauma and injury are leading causes of
death and disability in the world. The greater proportion of the
burden is in the developing world, where resources, both financial
and medical, are lacking. Six of the 15 leading causes of death
in people 15-44 years of age are trauma-related, according to the
WHO. More than five million deaths per year are caused by trauma
resulting from both intentional and unintentional injury. In addition,
trauma and injury are major contributors to long-term disability.
To gain insight into needs and opportunities for research in this
critical area, FIC brought together forty U.S. and international
experts in July 2003 to discuss priorities for research training
and the development of new technologies to reduce the impact of
trauma and injuries in the developing world. The resulting program
invites applications in areas such as prevention, treatment at the
scene, emergency medical facilities and services, post-acute care,
development of low-cost prosthetic devices, and long-term care,
including rehabilitation, as well as evaluation of low-cost techniques
in diagnostic procedures. Training may also focus on topics in low-cost
technologies such as x-ray and ultrasound, ventilators, optimal
resuscitation fluids, blood substitutes, and materials to cover
wounds in burn victims. Awards will provide up to $150,000 per year
in direct costs for up to five years of support.
This program honors the memory of Dr. John "Jack" Furman
Finklea, a world leader in the field of injury control research.
Dr. Finklea was instrumental in establishing FIC's International
Training and Research Program in Environmental and Occupational
Health and in launching CDC's extramural injury control research
grants program. Dr. Finklea was the director of the National Institute
for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) at the CDC from 1975-1978.
Applications for the International Collaborative Trauma and Injury
Research Training Program are due by August 25, 2004. Applications
will be due on this anniversary date through 2006. Letters of intent
are due by July 25, 2004. The Program Announcement for this program
may be found at: http://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/pa-files/PAR-04-083.html.
Additional information can be found at the FIC Website, http://www.fic.nih.gov.
FIC is the international component of the NIH. It promotes and
supports scientific discovery internationally and mobilizes resources
to reduce disparities in global health. NIH is an agency of the
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Press releases and
other FIC-related materials are available at www.fic.nih.gov.
*FIC's NIH partners are the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse
and Alcoholism, the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, the
National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering, the
National Institute of Mental Health, the National Institute of Nursing
Research, the Office of Behavioral and Social Sciences Research,
and the Office of Research on Women's Health.
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