Center awarded $4.3 million for injury-prevention research
CDC funding will support programs to reduce drug overdoses, older adult falls and school violence, among other efforts.Media Contact: Susan Gregg - 206-390-3226, sghanson@uw.edu
UW Medicine’s Harborview Injury Prevention & Research Center (HIPRC) has received a $4.3 million grant from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to support research on opioid-overdose prevention, adverse childhood experiences, school violence prevention, and older adult falls.
This five-year grant names HIPRC and 10 other injury prevention research centers in the United States. HIPRC is the only such center west of the Rockies.
The grant will support research studies, training of new injury-prevention specialist, public outreach, and community-guided impact on policies and programs.
“The CDC support will allow us to enhance our efforts to engage with, and prevent injuries in, communities most impacted by injury and violence in Washington, Wyoming, Alaska, Montana and Alaska and across the country,” said Megan Moore, HIPRC’s interim director. She is the Sidney Miller Endowed Associate Professor in Direct Practice at the University of Washington School of Social Work.
The grant will fund four key research projects aimed at improving public health outcomes in vulnerable communities:
- Overdose prevention in rural areas: This project will develop a patient-centered harm-reduction program for rural primary-care settings. The goal is to increase access to lifesaving strategies that prevent overdose deaths.
- Adverse childhood experiences: In collaboration with the Lummi Tribal Health Center in Washington state, this project will create and test a culturally responsive parenting program for caregivers of American Indian/Alaska Native children. The program aims to prevent and build resilience against these adverse experiences.
- Enhancing school safety: This initiative involves a two-and-a-half -year pilot study across multiple school districts. The study will evaluate the effectiveness of a community-based strategy to improve student safety perceptions and reform the practices of school resource officers.
- Fall prevention for rural American Indian and Alaska Native adults: Recognizing the high rates of falls among rural American Indian and Alaska Native older adults, this project will adapt and test a remotely delivered exercise program. The goal is to reduce falls by implementing an evidence-based fitness program tailored to the needs of these communities.
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