Quick post here to highlight a nice study authored by Alva O. Ferdinand and colleagues at the University of Alabama at Birmingham that examined the impact of state texting laws on motor vehicle fatalities in the United States. I came away with two important findings from the study. First, primary enforcement (which means that officers […]
Latest articles
Domestic violence
Blog readers are well aware of my passion for conferences – the immeasurable benefits that can arise from presenting, networking, developing and maintaining collaborations, and sparking ideas, just to name a few. So today I won’t talk at length about the wonderful experiences I had last month as I spoke at a conference in Paris, […]
Gangs, Violence, and a Flood of Migrant Children
There has been a tremendous amount of media attention in the United States on what is described as a flood of migrant children illegally crossing the US-Mexico border. Statistics referenced in a recent NPR article estimate that more than 50,000 unaccompanied children have been detained by US border patrol in the last eight months. http://www.npr.org/2014/06/20/323657817/from-a-stream-to-a-flood-migrant-kids-overwhelm-u-s-border-agents […]
Hot ash burns – are we making progress?
One of the best parts of being able to blog for Injury Prevention is being able to reflect upon my own experiences (personal and professional) as I learn about the research of other injury prevention researchers. I suppose today’s blog has left me feeling a little frustrated, however, that maybe we aren’t making as much […]
The Benefits of Aggressive Play
Is aggressive play or roughhousing something that models and facilitates violent behavior or are there benefits and if so, what are those benefits? A recently story on NPR summarizes some of the research that highlights the potential benefits of roughhousing , even forms that involve pretend violence. http://www.npr.org/blogs/ed/2014/06/25/325218402/what-kids-can-learn-from-a-water-balloon-fight I found the reported potential benefits of […]
Data linkage: overcoming a potential injury prevention obstacle
I am not an expert in data linkage, nor am I up to the challenge of linking various data sources, however I am acutely aware that NOT linking data is a huge obstacle for injury prevention. Without the base information which is provided by data linkage, we (and by we I am referring not only to my […]
Injury prevention and the musician
It doesn’t seem right that something so beautiful as music can cause terrible, enduring pain for the creator. Sharing my home with an aspiring concert pianist (a busy young lady who has also spent years studying violin, harp, and classical voice) means I have seen first hand just what can happen through overuse, incorrect practice, or simply […]
Connecting, coordination and coverage is crucial: my experiences with Fatality Free Friday
Last Friday, May 28, was Fatality Free Friday (see http://www.fatalityfreefriday.com/) here in Australia. The aim of the event is Not a single road death in Australia for just one day. Just one Fatality Free Friday. The Fatality Free Friday website states: We believe that if drivers are asked to actively concentrate on road safety and safe […]
Look for injury prevention ideas everywhere
Conferences – I’m a huge fan! Regular readers of the blog will know I have shared my thoughts about the benefits of conference attendance/presentation/participation etc. Today I continue my sharing by telling you about one of the best ideas I heard at the most recent conference within which I had the great fortune to participate. First, some background. […]
Harborview Injury Prevention Research Centre has new director
I just spotted this important announcement. I am not sure who preceded Fred Rivara as Director of this outstanding Injury Prevention Research Centre, but I do know he was followed by David Grossman and Beth Ebel. Now a new director has been named. As the announcement states, “Dr. Vavilala is Professor of Anesthesiology and Pediatrics […]