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THE CENTER FOR INJURY CONTROL

Overview
Leadership
Achievements
Research Priorities
Classes
Contact Us
Center for Injury Control Website

::::::::: Overview ::::
Jointly supported by Emory University's Rollins School of Public Health and the Department of Emergency Medicine, School of Medicine, the Emory Center for Injury Control is dedicated to reducing the health and economic impact of injuries in Atlanta, throughout Georgia, and worldwide.

Because effective injury control requires the expertise of many disciplines, the Center spans multiple departments and schools within Emory University. We also have strong partnerships with area Emergency Medical Services (EMS) providers and hospitals, several academic institutions, grass roots organizations, and government agencies.

The Center's core and affiliate faculty are widely recognized for work on a variety of topics, including prevention of firearm injuries and domestic violence, evaluation of programs to prevent child abuse and youth violence, and reduction of motor vehicle injuries by reducing impaired driving and promoting use of protective helmets and safety belts. We are actively engaged in international efforts to promote cost-effective injury surveillance systems and sustainable prehospital trauma care systems worldwide.

On the strength of these accomplishments, the Center was designated an official "Collaborating Center" for injury control, violence prevention, and emergency health services by the Pan American and World Health Organizations in 1995. In light of the responsibility this designation entails, we are more determined than ever to reduce the global toll of deaths, disability and costs due to injury.

- Arthur L. Kellermann, MD, MPH

::::::::: Leadership ::::
Debra Houry, MD, MPH, Director: Dr. Houry is currently PI on two federal grants evaluating computer-based screening for domestic violence. She has authored more than 40 peer-reviewed publications and book chapters on injury prevention and violence. In 2003, she received the Jay Drotman Award, given annually by the American Public Health Association for the most outstanding young public health professional in the country. Dr. Houry teaches the Injury Control and Prevention course as well as the Violence as a Public Health Problem course at the School of Public Health. She is also an Assistant Professor in the Department of Emergency Medicine, Department of Environmental and Occupational Health, and the Department of Behavioral Science and Health Education.

Arthur Kellermann, MD, MPH, Director Emeritus: Professor and Chair of Emory's Department of Emergency Medicine, Dr. Kellermann has published numerous papers on injury control, emergency health services, and health policy. A past winner of the "Excellence in Science" Award by the Injury Control and Emergency Health Services Section of the American Public Health Association, Kellermann received Emory's Scholar/Teacher Award in 2001. He is also a member of the Institute of Medicine.

Scott Sasser, MD, Associate Director: Dr. Sasser is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Emergency Medicine. Fellowship trained in Emergency Medical Services (EMS), he directs the department's international programs and serves as a consultant to the National Center for Injury Prevention and Control at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Dr. Sasser is widely known for his expertise on EMS systems, bomb and blast injuries, and international models of prehospital care.

Ricardo Martinez, MD, Associate Director Emeritus: Shortly after joining the Center in 1994, Dr. Martinez was appointed to head the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). Under his leadership, NHTSA achieved the lowest crash fatality rate, the lowest percentage of DUI fatal crashes, and the highest seat belt use in American history. He is now CEO of Safety Intelligence Systems, a technology and information company dedicated to improving automobile crash safety performance, knowledge, and design.

Faculty: The Center works with Emory University faculty from several departments and schools, including epidemiology, environmental and occupational health, biostatistics, behavioral science and health education, international health, emergency medicine, pediatrics, surgery, internal medicine, psychiatry, neurology, neurosurgery, physical medicine and rehabilitation, biomechanics, business, and law.

Robert Agnew, PhD
Professor, Department of Sociology

Peter Ash, MD
Associate Professor, Department of Psychiatry

Michael Deguzman, MPH
Researcher, Department of Pediatrics

Lemuel Dent, MD
Assistant Professor, Morehouse Department of Surgery

John Carter, MPH, PhD
Assistant Professor, Department of Epidemiology

Nancy Fajman, MD
Assistant Professor, Department of Pediatrics

Phil Graitcer, DDS
Professor, Department of International Health

Sheryl Heron, MD, MPH
Associate Professor, Department of Emergency Medicine

Vicki Hertzberg, PhD
Associate Professor, Department of Biostatistics

Nadine Kaslow, PhD
Professor, Department of Psychiatry

Art Linton
Administrator, Department of Violence Studies

Jana Macleod, MD
Assistant Professor, Department of Surgery

Jeffrey Salomone, MD
Associate Professor, Department of Surgery

Hal Simon, MD
Assistant Professor, Department of Pediatrics

Nancy Thompson, PhD
Associate Professor, Department of Beh Sci and Health Ed

David Wright, MD
Assistant Professor, Department of Emergency Medicine

::::::::: Achievements ::::
The Emory Center for Injury Control�s core and affiliate faculty are widely recognized for their work. The Center�s achievements include:

Secured federal grants from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the National Institutes of Health, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, the National Institute of Justice, and the Bureau of Justice Assistance to conduct injury prevention research.
Created a model firearm injury surveillance system for metropolitan Atlanta, and worked with a variety of local, state, and federal law enforcement agencies and prosecutors to reduce gun violence in metropolitan Atlanta.
Published numerous reports and editorials on injury control in the New England Journal of Medicine, JAMA, and the American Journal of Public Health.
Evaluated the state's Child Fatality Review process for the Georgia General Assembly; currently conducting a study of risk factors for death among children in state custody.
Conducted groundbreaking research on the prevention of unintentional firearm injuries of children and adults.
Helped convince the Georgia General Assembly to adopt primary enforcement of Georgia's safety belt law and a comprehensive package of laws to promote safer driving by teens. The Center has also helped block, on an annual basis, repeated attempts to repeal Georgia's "all rider" motorcycle helmet law.
Provided academic input to the city of Atlanta's Blue Ribbon Commission on 911, the Georgia Commission on Family Violence, the state Offices of EMS and Injury Control, and other local and state agencies.
Taught and/or mentored over 100 Emory College and graduate students, many of whom have gone on to pursue careers in public health or medicine.

::::::::: Research Priorities ::::
Improved prevention and treatment of traumatic brain injuries: The Center and partner programs at Emory University are engaged in a variety of projects and initiatives to prevent traumatic brain injuries and more effectively treat brain injury victims.

Reduction of firearm-related crime and violence: Staff of the Center are working collaboratively with community partners, law enforcement agencies, and prosecutors to reduce firearm violence and injuries through enhanced enforcement of existing laws.

Screening for mental health symptoms and exposure to intimate partner violence among emergency department patients: Center faculty are working to institute computer-based screening for mental health symptoms and intimate partner violence in Emergency Department patients and to subsequently develop a brief mental health screen for domestic violence survivors.

Analyzing 911 data to detect patterns and trends in injuries: The Center is studying ways to use 911 data to identify households at particularly high risk for a serious or fatal outcome. Similar analytical approaches may enable local governments to pinpoint "crash prone" intersections and other high risk stretches of roadway.

National Violent Death Statistics System: Conducted in collaboration with several other system integrates Centers and the Harvard School of Public Health, this program is developing the prototype for a national public health surveillance system to monitor incidents of violent death and identify opportunities for prevention.

World Health Organization (WHO) Helmet Initiative: The WHO Helmet Initiative was created in 1991 to promote the use of bicycle and motorcycle helmets worldwide. Accessible through the World Wide Web, it provides information on policies, programs, and resources to help public health practitioners create and implement effective programs.

Development of prehospital trauma care guidelines for developing countries: Conducted in conjunction with the WHO Violence and Injury Prevention Program and other collaborating injury centers worldwide, Center faculty are leading an effort to develop sound clinical and programmatic guidelines to promote cost-effective strategies to enhance the prehospital care of injured victims in nations with limited resources.

::::::::: Classes ::::
Violence as a Public Health Problem (BSHE 565)
Violence is a leading cause of death in this nation. Unlike many other causes of illness and death, violence disproportionately affects the young. However, public health efforts to address this problem have only developed recently. This course emphasizes the important role that is emerging for public health practitioners related to violence as a public health problem. The goals of this course are:

To familiarize students with the public health approach to violence, including surveillance, risk group identification, risk factor analysis, and program implementation/evaluation.
To use that conceptual framework to discuss some specific content areas. The course will focus on interpersonal violence (assault and homicide, firearm-related violence, youth violence, sexual assault and intimate partner violence), as well as self-directed violence (suicide and suicide attempts).

Injury Control and Prevention (EOH 580/BSHE 591)
This course in injury prevention and control is designed to introduce public health students to basic concepts of environmental sciences, to the methods used to study the interface of health and the environment, to the health impacts of various environmental processes and exposures, and to the public health approach to controlling or eliminating environmental health risks Upon completion of the course, students will be able to: describe the impact of injuries on health and on society in terms of mortality, morbidity, disability, and cost; discuss what is meant by the terms injury prevention and injury control; and describe the epidemiology of unintentional and intentional injuries including etiology, risk groups for major causes, and identify public health strategies for their prevention and control.

::::::::: Contact Us ::::
If you would like additional information about the Emory Center for Injury Control, please contact Deb Houry, MD, MPH, at dhoury@emory.edu or (404) 616-6010.