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Assessing the Impact of Injury Control Research Centers

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A pilot study to assess the impact of injury control research on training, outreach, and partnerships
  • Client
    Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)
  • Dates
    September 2020 - September 2021

Problem

There is a lack of evidence-based research to fill the gaps in our knowledge about how to prevent injuries.

Injuries are one of the leading causes of death among all Americans, but we need evidence-based research to fill the gaps in our knowledge about how to prevent injuries and to translate this research into practice. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) National Center for Injury Prevention and Control (NCIPC) funds Injury Control Research Centers (ICRCs) to study injury and violence prevention. The ICRCs are a national network of academic research centers that translate research into action. The ICRCs focus on three core areas of expertise:

  1. Research on the causes, outcomes, and prevention of injuries and violence
  2. Outreach to states and communities to translate research into action 
  3. Training future researchers and public health professionals

Solution

NORC assessed the local and national impact of 10 Injury Control Research Centers (ICRCs).

CDC contracted with NORC at the University of Chicago to conduct a pilot study to assess the local and national impact of core area activities conducted by 10 ICRCs funded from 2012 to 2020. 

NORC analyzed 100 ICRC progress reports, categorized and catalogued ICRC accomplishments, and entered accomplishments into a single database. Additionally, the team extracted and catalogued publications that resulted from the CDC’s ICRC funding to document the impact of ICRCs on the field. The project culminated in an impact report enumerating and synthesizing these accomplishments related to the three core functions: research, outreach, and training. 

Result

ICRCs have advanced the field of injury and prevention and accomplished much related to research, training, and outreach.

NORC's study documented the ICRCs’ accomplishments and demonstrated the value of the CDC’s injury and violence prevention work. ICRCs reported:

  • 324 research projects conducted between 2012 and 2019 
  • 2,500 accomplishments related to ICRC partnerships, trainings, research, and tools and resources
  • 2,200 trainees 
  • 3,300 publications on injury and violence prevention in peer-reviewed journals
     

The most frequent research priority areas reported were related to:

  • Cross-cutting injury prevention activities
  • Transportation safety
  • Traumatic brain injury
  • Suicide
  • Prescription opioid overdose
     

Please see our Impact Report on the CDC’s ICRC website.  

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