News

National Study Finds Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder Common Among Injured Patients

PTSD Associated with Substantial Functional Impairment Including
Difficulties Returning to Work

Suffering a traumatic injury can have serious and long-lasting implications for a patient’s mental health, according to the largest-ever U.S. study evaluating the impact of traumatic injury. Researchers from the Harborview Injury Prevention and Research Center, the University of Washington, and the John Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health found that post-traumatic stress disorder and depression were very common among patients assessed one year after suffering a serious injury. They also found that injured patients diagnosed with PTSD or depression were six times more likely to not have returned to work in the year following the injury.

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Post-Partum Suicide Attempt Risks Studied (8/6/08)

Although maternal suicide after giving birth is a relatively rare occurrence, suicide attempts often have long-lasting effects on the family and the infant. In a study published in the August 2008 issue of the American Journal of Obstetrics & Gynecology, researchers compared two populations of mothers and found that a history of psychiatric disorders or substance abuse was a strong predictor of post-partum suicide attempts. 

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Reuters story

UPI story

Children falling out of windows: Preventing a summer tragedy (7/25/08)

Window falls are one of the most serious safety threats to young children in the Northwest during the summer, and Harborview Medical Center has recently seen cases surge. The problem is also a national concern. Nearly 5,000 children--mostly toddlers--fall out of windows each year in the U.S. Throughout the year, Injury Research Center faculty work with local and national media to share safety and injury prevention information. To learn more about this topic, see the news release or media links below. 

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King 5 news story

Seattle Times news story

CDC Recognizes Center's Alcohol Trauma Research (5/29/08)

The connection between alcohol and trauma is the subject of a feature story highlighted on the website of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The story details  the groundbreaking efforts of investigators from the Harborview Injury Prevention & Research Center to examine the role of alcohol use in cases of traumatic injury.
Chosen from a pool of more than forty entries, the profile is first in a series highlighting successful research projects funded by the CDC.

Click here to read the full story at the CDC website (external link).

Recent Injuries Spark Concern Over ATV Use by Children: Physicians cite greater need for public education about safety (5/13/08)

With the onset of warmer weather, physicians at Harborview Medical Center in Seattle have reported seeing an increase in cases involving children injured while using all-terrain vehicles (ATVs). The trend is generating concern among local pediatric and trauma experts.  In separate incidents last month, two children were seriously injured while riding ATVs driven by other children.  None were wearing helmets.

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Not All Smoke Alarms Created Equal: New study finds that household photoelectric alarms are more likely to remain working (4/10/08)

If you thought all smoke alarms were equally effective, think again.  According to a recent study by researchers from the Harborview Injury Prevention and Research Center (HIPRC) and the University of Washington in Seattle, photoelectric smoke alarms are much more likely to remain functioning after installation than are ionization alarms.  Ionization alarms are the most common type found in U.S. households.

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HIPRC Hosts Pedestrian Safety Conference Jan. 16th (01/03/07)

In tribute to Tatsuo Nakata, chief of staff for Seattle City Councilman David Della who was killed in a West Seattle crosswalk last November, HIPRC will host a pedestrian safety conference to identify immediate actions for improving pedestrian safety in Seattle Tuesday, January 16th, from 9 am - 3:30 pm in the Research and Training Building Auditorium of Harborview Medical Center.

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Are Trauma Centers Prepared for Mass-Casualty Disasters? (10/20/06)

Natural and manmade disasters, including the terrorist attacks of Sept.11, 2001 and Hurricane Katrina, have raised concerns about the capacity of trauma centers to absorb large numbers of patients from mass-casualty events. With many trauma centers having a patient census of 95 percent, can Americans be assured of access to an appropriate level of trauma care the next time a disaster strikes?

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Postpartum Suicide Risk Linked to Fetal or Infant Death (09/11/06)

Postpartum suicide attempts are strongly associated with fetal or infant death and most commonly occur in the first and 12th months postpartum. Women who experience maternal complications, including labor and delivery complications and cesarean delivery, are not at higher risk for postpartum suicide attempts.

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Newer, Less Aggressive Air Bags Protect Adults and Pose Less Risk to Children (07/17/06)

Front air bags reduce injury and death for most drivers and front-seat passengers in vehicle crashes, yet first-generation air bags, installed in motor vehicles until 1998, deploy with such force that they put children and small adults at significant risk of death

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Decreased Alcohol Consumption, Increased Use of Seat Belts Save Lives (06/12/06)

Traffic crash mortality rates in the U.S. declined by 44 percent between 1969 and 2003, dropping from 26.4 per 100,000 person-years in 1969 to 14.7 in 2003. Behaviors that contribute to the risk of traffic-crash mortality include alcohol use by drivers and pedestrians, not wearing a seat belt, lack of an air bag, not wearing a motorcycle helmet, and not wearing a bicycle helmet.

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Falls From Windows: Preventing a Warm Weather Tragedy (05/19/06)

Every year, nearly 5,000 kids — mostly toddlers — fall out of windows. Of these children, 28 percent require a hospital stay, and dozens die. Window screens provide no protection against these tragedies, and research shows that 40-60 percent of children who fall through windows first fall through a screen..

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Building on Parental Safety Concerns To Motivate Booster Use Among Latino Families (05/01/06)

Booster seats protect children from serious injury in motor vehicle crashes, yet research shows that parents are inconsistent in using booster seats to protect children 4-8 years of age. Children of Latino families are at greater risk as their parents are often ill-informed about the proper use of child-safety seats.

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Tax Increases, Advertising Bans May Reduce Harmful Alcohol Consumption Among Youth (03/13/06)

Harmful drinking is one of the leading causes of death in the U.S., with an estimated 63,718 deaths attributable to alcohol in the year 2000. Research indicates that harmful drinking generally begins during adolescence, and the risk of adult alcohol dependence is two- to three-fold greater for those who begin drinking by age 12 than it is for those who begin at age 19. Given this pattern, primary prevention among children and adolescents may represent a key element in any effort to reduce the death toll attributable harmful drinking

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Trauma-Center Care Significantly Lowers Risk of Death (01/26/06)

Care at a trauma center lowers the risk of death for injured patients by 25 percent compared to treatment received at non-trauma centers, according to the results of a nationwide study conducted by researchers at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and the University of Washington School of Medicine. “A National Evaluation of the Effect of Trauma Center Care on Mortality,” published in the January 26 edition of the New England Journal of Medicine , is among the first studies to provide strong evidence of the effectiveness of specialized trauma-care facilities.

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Follow-Up Care for Adolescent Trauma Survivors' Emotional Distress: A Need Unmet (01/06/06)

Adolescents who suffer physical injuries are vulnerable to emotional distress in the months following their hospitalization, yet almost 40 percent of hospitalized adolescents interviewed for a new study had no source for the follow-up medical care that could diagnose and treat symptoms of posttraumatic stress (PTS). These young trauma survivors are at risk for high levels of PTS and depressive symptoms, as well as high levels of alcohol use, according to research by investigators at the Harborview Injury Prevention & Research Center (HIPRC).

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HIPRC To Develop and Evaluate Designated Driver and Safe Ride Home Programs (12/23/05)

In October 2005, the Harborview Injury Prevention & Research Center (HIPRC), in partnership with King County Public Health Violence and Injury Prevention division, received a grant from the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention (CDC) to develop and evaluate a designated driver and safe ride home program for Seattle. The program targets the neighborhoods of Belltown, Fremont, Pioneer Square and the University District — areas of the city where more impaired driving incidents involving 21-34 year olds originate.

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Preventing Injury Death Around the World: “The 1,000,000 Lives Campaign” (12/23/05)

At least five million people around the world die from trauma each year, with enormous disparities in survival rates for patients injured in high-income and low-income countries. Calling for a 20 percent reduction in this death rate, two researchers at the Harborview Injury Prevention & Research Center (HIPRC) outline six scientifically sound interventions that can lead to achieving what they call “an ambitious but feasible goal.”

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Many Parents Slow to Adapt to Booster Seat Law (11/30/05)

Booster seats have been proven to protect children from serious injury, yet new research shows that in some communities fewer than 21 percent of children 4-8 years old are properly secured in booster seats when they ride in cars. More children were observed to be completely unrestrained (34 percent) or inadequately protected by an adult seat belt (45 percent).

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Rivara Elected to Institute of Medicine (10/24/05)

Frederick P. Rivara, M.D., M.P.H., has been elected to membership in the Institute of Medicine (IOM) of the National Academies. The IOM, chartered in 1970 as a component of the National Academy of Sciences, provides science-based advice on matters of biomedical science, medicine and health. Members are elected on the basis of their professional achievement and their demonstrated interest, concern and involvement with problems and critical issues that affect the health of the public.

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Intimate partner violence often ignored in determining child custody (8/8/05)

Most states mandate some consideration of intimate partner violence (IPV) in child custody proceedings, but the existence of such abuse is often unknown to the court when custody is at issue. This finding, by investigators at the Harborview Injury Prevention & Research Center (HIPRC), is published in the August 2005 issue of Violence Against Women.

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Washington Legislature strengthens booster seat law (4/25/05)

Washington's Child Restraint Law, passed in 2002 as the first such law to be enacted in the U.S. , has been updated to require proper child restraint and booster seat use until a child is 8 years old unless he or she is 4'9” tall. The new law, effective as of June 1, 2007, was signed by Gov. Christine Gregoire in an Olympia ceremony at the close of the recent legislative session.

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Pregnant women face risk after motor vehicle crashes regardless of the presence of injuries (3/21/05)

Pregnant women who are hospitalized following motor vehicle crashes are at increased risk of adverse pregnancy outcomes, even if they are not seriously injured or not injured at all. These women are at risk for such difficulties as placental abruption and cesarean section and their babies at risk for respiratory distress syndrome and fetal death, according to a new study by investigators at the Harborview Injury Prevention & Research Center (HIPRC).

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Mock Named HIPRC Director (3/9/05)

Dr. Charles Mock has been named director of the Harborview Injury Prevention & Research Center. Mock, a University of Washington (UW) associate professor with a joint appointment in the departments of Surgery and Epidemiology, first joined the HIPRC in 1992 as a trauma fellow.

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Safe storage of guns, ammunition reduces risk of firearm injury risk to youth (2/8/05)

Keeping firearms in a household is associated with a 5-10 fold increased risk of suicide among adolescents, and an estimated 35 percent of homes with children under the age of 18 contain at least one gun. Can secure storage of these firearms prevent children and adolescents from suicides and unintentional injuries caused by firearms?

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Alcohol screening and intervention in the trauma setting save health-care costs by preventing further injuries (1/14/05)

Brief alcohol counseling sessions for injured patients, already shown to be effective in reducing subsequent alcohol intake and trauma recidivism, can also reduce health-care costs. Each dollar spent on alcohol screening and intervention saves $3.81 in health expenditures, according to a new study by researchers at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas, the Harborview Injury Prevention & Research Center, and the Johns Hopkins University School of Public Health.

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Spanish-language web site encourages booster seat usage (12/23/04)

¡Abróchese! ¡Es la ley! (Buckle up! It's the law!) is the message on a new web site for Latino families (www.abrochatuvida.org). The site includes information, including access to new booster seat discount coupons, for parents and other family members, children and organizations serving Latino families. The site will help parents choose the proper way to protect their children in cars, depending on a child's height, weight and age.

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Crash injuries result in large and potentially preventable productive losses to U.S. workers (10/25/04)

More than 6.3 million adults were involved in police-reported motor vehicle crashes in 2001, resulting in more than 3 million injuries and health-care visits. While most injuries do not result in permanent disability, the amount of time the injured lost from work is an important consequence of motor vehicle crashes, the leading cause of injury death for Americans through the age of 65.

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Injuries due to mismatch crashes support need for vehicle redesign (9/13/04)

While the number of fatalities resulting from crashes between passenger vehicles decreased steadily between 1980 and 1998, there has been an increase in fatalities resulting from collisions between passenger vehicles and light trucks, a category that includes sport utility vehicles, pickup trucks and vans. The patterns of injuries that occur in these collisions suggest a need to redesign both types of vehicles, according to new research by investigators at the Harborview Injury Prevention & Research Center (HIPRC).

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Risks of falling lowest in older adults who wear athletic shoes (8/20/04)

Falls are the most frequent cause of fatal injury to older Americans, and non-fatal falls, which are also common, can curtail mobility and quality of life for older adults. The choice of footwear for adults aged 65 and older may be an important factor in preventing these falls, according to new research by investigators at the Harborview Injury Prevention & Research Center and Group Health Cooperative of Puget Sound.

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Binge drinking, harmful drinking linked to U.S. death rates (8/9/04)

Binge drinking and harmful drinking, including both medium to high levels of regular alcohol consumption, account for a substantial number of deaths each year in the United States. Prevention of this underlying cause of mortality must be a public health priority, according to researchers at the University of Washington (UW) who conducted the study.

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