ICREATE: Increasing Capacity for Injury Research in Eastern Europe

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Project Summary/Abstract The global injury burden is disproportionately concentrated in low and middle income countries. This project, named ICREATE: Injury Capacity in Research in EAsTern Europe, expands on five successful years of building injury research and education capacity in the countries of Armenia, Georgia, and Moldova. These countries are strategic global priorities due to their political and economic ties to the Middle East, Russia, and Europe. Through a European Union TEMPUS grant, our partner institutions established MPH programs in 2010, but at that time no programs had injury or violence course content or research. After our first cycle of funding, all MPH programs, as well as one new undergraduate program in Moldova, have injury content in the core curricula. We have built data capacity through the establishment of an 8-hospital emergency department trauma registry and an NIH-funded prospective brain injury registry; these databases have been used for student projects, and trainee publications and presentations. In our first cycle, we trained 40 MPH students, 9 PhD students, mentored 43 experiential learning projects, and published 13 papers. In the next funding cycle, we propose the following aims: train a critical mass of researchers from Armenia, Georgia, and Moldova to conduct innovative research; facilitate the transition of trainees to positions of leadership; develop our partner institutions as sustainable centers of excellence in injury research and education; and, engage partners to translate research into effective prevention and treatment programs. Our original topic areas of focus on road traffic injury, interpersonal violence, and acute care will be expanded to include alcohol use, and we will expand our methodologic focus on data and analytic capacity to include implementation science. Our program will prioritize MPH and PhD training to build research and leadership skills focused on injury and violence prevention. Through a credit-sharing agreement, trainees will be able to study at multiple institutions during their degree program. Now that partner institutions have implemented injury curricula, PhD degree training will shift from the University of Iowa to partner countries. Our Injury Prevention Summer Course, previously hosted at the University of Babes-Bolyai, will now circulate between partner institutions, taught by trainee alumni appointed as faculty. Partner countries will continue to host annual research symposia to highlight trainee research and to promote the field of injury and violence research. We plan for these activities to build sustainable research and education capacity that will lead to reductions in the burden of traumatic injuries and violence. PHS 398/2590 (Rev. 06/09) Page Continuation Format Page