CDC's Injury Research Agenda 2009-2018 Released
Blueprint will be used to Prevent Injuries and Violence
Published: March 11, 2009
Injuries have a substantial impact on the lives of people in the United States and often cause considerable harm to families and communities. The latest annual data reveals that nearly 174,000 persons die from injuries and about one in ten experienced an injury serious enough to require a visit to a hospital emergency department. Fortunately, thanks to a new research plan just released by CDC's National Center for Injury Prevention and Control (CDC's Injury Center), much of that may be greatly reduced or ended by 2019.
CDC's Injury Research Agenda 2009-2018 will guide the direction of the Injury Center's research over the next decade. This agenda is a blueprint for much needed research on unintentional injury, homicide and suicide, which are the leading causes of death among persons 1 to 44 years of age. It is expected that the agenda will help CDC identify the best approaches and programs to prevent and reduce injuries and violence.
"Research is fundamental to our success because good data are essential in making sound, smart investments," said Dr. Ileana Arias, Director of CDC′s Injury Center. "Investing in research will give us the knowledge to help prevent needless deaths and painful, costly injuries. The key to making advances in injury and violence prevention and response over the next ten years is outlined in our updated agenda."
CDC's Injury Center is committed to turning effective research into sound programs that can help communities, adults, and children be safe and healthy. One example is the promising research to help reduce child maltreatment – research that shows that teaching positive parenting techniques can help parents develop safe, stable, nurturing relationships with their children.
Working Toward A 21st Century Where People Can Live to Their Full Potential
The Injury Research Agenda pinpoints nine areas where additional research can have the greatest impact on preventing injuries and violence and controlling their debilitating effects. Specifically, it addresses injuries at home and in communities; injuries occurring during sports, recreation and exercise; traumatic brain injuries; transportation- related injuries; intimate partner violence and sexual violence; child maltreatment; suicidal behavior; youth violence; and acute care.
The Injury Center has already made great strides in these nine topic areas by using the public health approach to describing the problem of injuries and violence, identifying risk and protective factors, developing and testing prevention strategies, and finally ensuring widespread adoption. Examples of promising programs developed this way include the "Triple P" (Positive Parenting Program) that has been shown to reduce incidents of maltreatment, and community-based fall prevention programs that protect older adults from devastating falls in their communities.
"There is a lot we've learned about injuries and violence," said Arias. "But there is still a lot we don't know. This knowledge gap could well be the difference between life and death for some."
Injury Research Agenda 2009-2018 Background
The original CDC Injury Research Agenda was developed in 2002 by NCIPC with extensive input from its academic research centers, national nonprofit organizations, and other federal agencies with a stake in injury prevention. The revised Research Agenda expands upon the 2002-2007 CDC Injury Research Agenda, and contains additional chapters about child maltreatment and traumatic brain injury. It also places increased emphasis on evaluation research, cost studies, and dissemination and translation of research discoveries. The research agenda is posted at the NCIPC website at: http://www.cdc.gov/Injury/ResearchAgenda/index.html.
