Strengthening Injury Control Research in Ghana and West Africa

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The broad goal of this proposal is to strengthen the capacity for injury control research in academic institutions in Ghana and West Africa, building a cadre of qualified researchers, with growing collaborations among West African countries. The project will increase capacity to generate evidence that will be translated into effective activities and implementable policy across the spectrum of injury control. The specific aims are: 1. Develop and implement high-quality short, intermediate, and long-term training opportunities in injury control within Ghana and West Africa, to train future academic leaders in the field. We will provide 7 MPH and 3 PhD degrees and will conduct 15 short (1-2 day) courses that reach over 500 participants. 2. Engage junior researchers in innovative, mentored research to generate evidence to strengthen the policy and practice of injury control in Ghana and in West Africa and low- and middle-income countries more generally. 3. Increase the capacity for injury control research at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST), and in other academic institutions, government agencies, and non-government organizations in Ghana and West Africa. The number of KNUST departments that have at least one faculty member with MPH/PhD training with a focus on injury, with related publications, who are involved with international injury research networks, and who head experienced, accomplished research teams will increase from 3 currently to 6. The number of such departments at University of Cape Coast and University of Development Studies will increase from 0 departments currently to 2 each. Training and research activities will address the multi-disciplinary spectrum of injury control (surveillance, prevention, prehospital and hospital trauma care). This program builds on a 20 year collaboration for injury research among KNUST, other institutions in Ghana, and the University of Washington. The past 10 years have been under the auspices of the Fogarty TRAUMA program. KNUST’s capacity for injury research has now grown to the point where further growth of the program at KNUST, as well as expansion to other Ghanaian and West African institutions, would be best served by having KNUST be the primary recipient of the next 5 year cycle. This would create greater equity, sustainability, efficiency, and the best return on investment. At the end of the project period, this program will have strengthened collaborations throughout the region. Scholars will have competed successfully for research funding, contributed to a growing base of policy-relevant research, and taken up faculty positions at academic institutions throughout Ghana and West Africa.