car seat

Facts

Costs
Insurance costs and out-of-pocket spending for all medical services are quantified by the Medical Expenditure Panel Survey (MEPS), a nationally-representative survey of the U.S. civilian noninstitutionalized population. MEPS reported that injuries in 2000 contributed to 10% of U.S. medical expenditures; when MEPS percentages were applied to the annual National Health Accounts data (which trace expenditures within the health care system), injury-related medical expenditures were estimated to cost Americans $117 billion each year.


Conference and Programs

The Center for Injury Research and Policy was host to the 2007 National Injury and Violence Prevention Research Conference on October 10 & 11. The conference was a first for SAVIR, the Society for Advancement of Violence and Injury Research, a non-profit organization founded in 2005 to promote scholarly activity in injury and violence control and to address issues relevant to the prevention, acute care, and rehabilitation of traumatic injury. Together, our two organizations brought together more than 120 professionals for two days of in-depth discussion on the opportunities, advancements, and challenges facing the field today.

Early arrivers to the conference were invited to attend a pre-conference workshop on October 9. The title of the workshop was “Show Me the Money; Strategies for Getting Your Proposal Funded,” and more than 30 participants took advantage of the opportunity to sharpen their grant writing skills.  

Throughout the conference participants enjoyed sessions presented by some of the top researchers in the field of injury and violence studies, including Roger Johansson, PhD, Chief Strategist for Traffic Safety at the Swedish Road Administration, who spoke about the success of Vision Zero, a program designed to eliminate serious injuries and deaths on Sweden’s roadways.  Attendees also heard from American Public Health Association President-Elect Linda Degutis, DrPH, MSN, who discussed the importance of translating injury research into practices and policies that can save lives. 

For more information about The Center for Injury Research and Policy or SAVIR, please go to www.injurycenter.org or www.savirweb.org.  Click http://sharepoint.ccri.ws/CIRP/CONFGallery.aspx to view photos from the conference and pre-conference workshop.