• Unintentional and intentional injury prevention surveillance
• The Development of Injury Indicators for Canadian Children and Youth
• The Development of Injury Indicators for First Nations and Inuit Children and Youth
• Injury Knowledge Translation and Public Health Policy and Practice
• Social Marketing to Prevent Injury
• Injury prevention cost benefit
• Worksite health promotion

Injury is the leading cause of death and disability among Canadians and kills more children and young people than all other causes combined.  The cost of injury is tremendous, estimated at some $19.6 billion annually in Canada. Injury prevention offers one of the most promising ways of reducing deaths, hospitalizations and related health care costs.

Injury often takes a back seat to less serious health concerns, because people believe that injuries are “accidents” or “fate,” and can neither be predicted nor prevented.  Most injuries, however, have distinct patterns and are, therefore, predictable and preventable.  Where good prevention efforts have been introduced, there have been significant reductions in disability and loss of life, such as with mandatory seatbelt and child passenger restraint laws.

BC Injury Research and Prevention Unit (BCIRPU) conducts a program of injury surveillance and research that contributes to understanding and preventing injury.  BCIRPU is a leader in the development of evidence-based prevention strategies, and has a solid reputation among the provincial, national and international injury prevention communities.

BCIRPU’s research agenda is organized under four areas: surveillance, research, education and knowledge transfer, and public information.

SURVEILLANCE
Project example: Using BC Children’s Hospital Injury Reporting and Prevention Program (CHIRPP) Data and Social Indicators
Until recently, little was known about the circumstances surrounding injuries to children.  Death and hospitalization rates, while valuable, can’t answer many of the questions asked by injury prevention workers.  What was the child doing when the injury happened?  What went wrong?  Where did it happen? What are the social circumstances in which the child lives? The Canadian Hospitals Reporting and Prevention Program (CHIRPP) was set up in 1990 to provide answers, and together with other socio-demographic data can provide clues for socially relevant injury prevention.

RESEARCH
Example: Developing Injury Indicators for Canadian Children and Youth, and First Nations & Inuit Children and Youth
A multidisciplinary, cross-pillar research team has identified 34 national injury indicators for children and youth. Current research is focused on demonstrating the utility of a sub-set of policy indicators. Future grant applications will allow for the validation and uptake of the remaining indicators, as well as the development of a web-based portal and indicators dashboard. Two important extensions of this project has been: 1) the development of 33 injury indicators for First Nations and Inuit children and youth, and 2) the start of the development of a deprivation index in order to examine the relationship between injury and the social circumstances in which children and youth live.

EDUCATION & KNOWLEDGE TRANSFER
Example: The Development of a Web Portal and Injury Indicator Dashboard to Translate Knowledge to Injury Prevention Policy and Practice
A dashboard is defined as a graphical user interface that organizes and presents information in a format that is easy to read and interpret.  In its simplest form, the child and youth injury indicator dashboard is a visual representation designed to provide salient information and to assess different aspects of the performance of the child and youth injury prevention system in Canada, allowing practitioners, policy makers and researchers to make timely decisions with regard to child and youth injury prevention improvements, and to assess and monitor those decisions over time.  The dashboard will be developed as part of a child and youth injury web portal providing links to child and youth injury prevention evidence and tools.

Example: Social Marketing to Prevent Injury
A strategic alliance with The Community Against Preventable Injuries has been developed to develop and implement social marketing campaigns to prevent serious injury in BC.  This project’s initial objectives are to: 1) establish an overall injury prevention ‘brand’ in BC; 2) engage multiple partners with emphasis on private sector leadership; 3) establish a critical mass necessary to transform societal attitudes and behaviors; and, 4) strategic implementation of campaigns to align with other injury prevention initiatives in BC.

PUBLIC INFORMATION
Example: BCIRPU Website
Public communication strategies are used to inform and educate, convey issues or results, or prepare the public for future initiatives that require commitment and action.  The BCIRPU website, is designed to take advantage of technology and proven communications strategies for injury prevention messages.  The website contains materials such as reports, fact sheets, tools and other resources, for use by researchers, professionals, practitioners, members of the media and the public.  It includes an interactive surveillance data program for users to generate their own data charts and tables (phase II will see the addition of data mapping and the development of an injury atlas for BC).

Desapriya E, Fujiwara T, Verma P, Babul S, Pike I. Comparison of on-reserve road versus off-reserve road motor vehicle crashes in Saskatchewan, Canada: a case control study. Asia Pac J Public Health. 2011 Nov;23(6):1005-20. Epub 2010 May 10. PMID: 20460293

Desapriya E, Samayawardhena L, Somasiri A, Pike I. Child occupants and side-impact crashes: commentary. J Emerg Nurs. 2011 Jul;37(4):391-3; author reply 425. Epub 2011 May 26. Review. PMID: 21620458

Mann B, Desapriya E, Fujiwara T, Pike I. Is blood alcohol level a good predictor for injury severity outcomes in motor vehicle crash victims? Emerg Med Int. 2011;2011:616323. Epub 2011 Sep 14. PMID: 22046541

Desapriya E, Fujiwara T, Namrata D, Arason N, Pike I. Impact of the 1994 alcohol production and sales deregulation policy on traffic crashes and fatalities in Japan. Asia-Pacific Journal of Public Health, 2011. DOI: 10.1177/1010539511404398. PMID: 21527435

Scime G, Babul S, Pike I. (2011). Child Death Review Unit 2008 Report on Child Mortality Data Analysis. A report prepared by the BC Injury Research and Prevention Unit for the Child Death Review Unit, BC Coroners Service, BC Ministry of Public Safety and Solicitor General. Vancouver, BC.

Desapriya E, Scime G, Cripton P, Babul S, Takeo F, Subzwari S, Pike I.: Child restraint seats: Use, Misuse and Strategies for Improved Action. In: Frank Columbus, editor. New York: Nova Science Publishers. 2009

Subzwari S, Desapriya E, Babul S, Pike I, Turcotte K, Rajabali F, Kinney J.: Vision screening of older drivers for preventing road traffic injuries and fatalities. Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2009, Jan 21. Iss 1. Art No: CD006252. PMID: 21412894

Desapriya E, Subzwari S, Scime G, Pike I.: Expedited Cataract Surgery and Older Driver Motor Vehicle Crash Prevention. In: Bartley GP, ed. Traffic Accidents: Causes and Outcomes. Nova Science Publishers. New York; 2008. Ch 7.p177-200.

Subzwari S, Desapriya E, Scime G, Babul S, Jivani K, Pike I.: Effectiveness of cataract surgery in reducing driving-related difficulties: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Injury Prev. 2008 Oct;14(5):324-8. PMID: 18836050

Blair J, Perdios A, Babul S, Young K, Beckles J, Pike I, Cripton P, Sasges D, Mulpuri K, Desapriya E.: The appropriate and inappropriate use of child restraint seats in Manitoba. Int J Injury Cont Safe Promo. 2008 Sept;15(3):151–156. PMID: 18821379

Desapriya E, Fujiwara T, Babul S, Scime G, Pike I.: Compulsory child restraint seat law and motor vehicle child occupant deaths and injuries in Japan 1994-2005. Int J Injury Contr Safe Promo. 2008 Jul-Sept;15(2):93-97. PMID: 18642166

Desapriya E, Subzwari S, Fujiwara T, Pike I.: Conventional vision screening tests and older driver motor vehicle crash prevention. Int J Injury Contr Safe Promo. 2008 Apr-Jun;15(2):124-6. PMID: 18642171

BCRICWH Investigatorship Award, Child and Family Research Institute (2004 - 2010)

CFRI Special Salary Award, Child and Family Research Institute (2008-2010)