Our faculty conduct cutting-edge research on injury and violence prevention in the leading areas of injury in Colorado and the U.S. Learn more about our work on sports, firearm, and motor vehicle injury; suicide prevention; and child maltreatment.
Sports injury
Principal investigator: Comstock; Co-investigators: Arakkal and Bihl
About the project: High
School RIO™: Reporting Information Online is the internet-based data collection tool used in the
National High School Sports-Related Injury Surveillance Study. This
study, currently the only surveillance study of all time-loss injuries
in a national sample of U.S. high school athletes, was first
implemented during the 2005/06 academic year and has been maintained
annually. We capture athletic exposure (number of athlete practices and
number of athlete competitions per week),
injury (body site, diagnosis, severity, etc) and injury event
(mechanism, activity, position/event, field/court location, etc.) data
weekly throughout the academic year using certified athletic trainers
(ATCs) as data reporters. By understanding
the who, what, why, where and how of injuries, we can offer
recommendations to make sports as safe as possible for student athletes
Which sports are studied
Boys sports
Years studied
Baseball
2005/06 - 2018/19
Basketball
2005/06 - 2018/19
Cheerleading
2009/10 - 2018/19
Cross Country
2012/13 - 2018/19
Football
2005/06 - 2018/19
Ice Hockey
2008/09 - 2018/19
Lacrosse
2008/09 - 2018/19
Soccer
2005/06 - 2018/19
Swimming & Diving
2008/09 - 2018/19
Tennis
2014/15 - 2017/18
Track & Field
2008/09 - 2018/19
Volleyball
2009/10 - 2011/12
Wrestling
2005/06 - 2018/19
Girl's sports
Years studied
Basketball
2005/06 - 2018/19
Cheerleading
2009/10 - 2018/19
Cross Country
2012/13 - 2018/19
Field Hockey
2008/09 - 2018/19
Gymnastics
2008/09 - 2011/12
Lacrosse
2008/09 - 2018/19
Softball
2005/06 - 2018/19
Soccer
2005/06 - 2018/19
Swimming & Driving
2008/09 - 2018/19
Tennis
2014/15 - 2017/18
Track & Field
2008/09 - 2018/19
Volleyball
2005/06 - 2018/19
Study reports
Below are links to the annual summary reports from the National High School Sports-Related Injury Surveillance Study.
Original High School RIO™ study of 100 nationally representative schools reporting for the initial 9 sports of interest:
Funding agency: American Foundation on Suicide Prevention (AFSP)
Funding period: October 11, 2011 to January 31, 2014
Aim: To describe the behaviors of Emergency Department (ED) physicians, nurses and other staff in relation to suicide prevention and “means restriction”—limiting access to firearms and other highly lethal methods
of suicide—and to examine how these behaviors are affected by the implementation of a suicide assessment and intervention program for ED patients.
Principal investigator: Runyan; Co-investigators: Betz, Brooks-Russell, and Tung
Funding agency: National Institutes of Health (NIH): National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH)
Funding period: December 2014 to November 2016
Aim:
To examine, in the Mountain West, the potential adoption of emergency
department discharge practices that include counseling on limiting
access to guns during times of mental health crisis. Also, we will
examine the practices and perspectives of law enforcement, gun
retailers, and shooting range proprietors about offering temporary safe
storage of firearms for families of suicidal patients.
Motor vehicle injury
Principal investigators: Brooks-Russell and Kosnett
Funding agency: Colorado Department of Public Health & Environment
Funding period: April 1, 2017 to June 30, 2020
Aim: This study acute consumption of marijuana by occasional and daily marijuana users predicts surveywithin-subject change in driving performance.
How to participate:
If you are interested in participating in the study, please take this survey to determine your eligibility.
If you are an adult aged 25 to 45 with an active driver’s license who currently use cannabis (by smoking or vaping), or have ever used cannabis, you may be eligible. Adult drivers who do not currently use cannabis are also being recruited
to serve as control subjects.
What is involved:
Participation in this study will involve two visits to our research lab, located three miles west of the CU Anschutz Medical Campus in Aurora, CO. The two visits will take place within a 1-week period, with a stipend of up to $140 for
completion of both visits. The first visit (approximately 1.5 hours) will confirm eligibility, obtain informed consent, and include a few initial assessments. The second visit (approximately four hours) will include assessments designed
to assess driving performance and/or impairment that will measure reaction time and attention, among other things. The study will also include up to two blood draws.
Funding agency: National Institutes of Health (NIH): National Institute on Aging (NIA; Paul Beeson Career Development Award)
Supplemental funding from: American Foundation on Aging Research (AFAR)
Funding period: August 15th 2013- May 31st 2018
Aim:
To apply the model of a clinical decision rule to a public health
intervention, through tiered assessment of brief older driver
screening in ambulatory care settings followed by referral for more
comprehensive testing.
Principal investigators: DiGuiseppi and Betz
Funding agency: Columbia University via AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety
Funding period: October 1, 2013 to present
Aim:
To generate empirical evidence for understanding the dynamics,
mechanisms, determinants, and consequences of mobility in senior drivers
and for developing effective interventions to ensure safe mobility for
older people. With a prospective
cohort design, the AAAFTS Senior Driver Cohort Study will involve
enrolling a sample of at least 3,000 active drivers from five states
located across the U.S. and following them for a minimum of five years.
Suicide prevention
Principal investigator: Betz
Funding agency: University of Massachusetts via National Institutes of Health (NIH/NIMH)
Funding period: September 2009 to September 2014
Aim:
In a multi-site study, to (1) develop and test a standardized approach
to screening ED patients for suicide risk using a tool suitable for
systematic use in general medical EDs; (2) refine and test an
ED-initiated intervention to reduce suicidal behavior and associated
morbidity and mortality among people who self-identify or screen
positive for suicidal ideation; and (3) complete a comparative economic
analysis of treatment as usual, screening, and the intervention.
Principal investigator: Betz
Funding agency: University of Massachusetts via National Institutes of Health (NIH/NIMH)
Funding period: June 2015 to May 2019
Aim:
In a multi-site study, to use Lean approaches to (1) implement a new,
best-practice Safety Plan Intervention for suicidal ED patients and (2)
sustain universal suicide screening in ED patients long-term (up to four
years after initial implementation).
Principal investigator: Betz
Funding agency: American Foundation on Suicide Prevention (AFSP)
Funding period: October 11, 2011 to January 31, 2014
Aim:
To describe the behaviors of Emergency Department (ED) physicians,
nurses and other staff in relation to suicide prevention and “means
restriction”—limiting access to firearms and other highly lethal methods
of suicide—and to examine how these behaviors are affected by the
implementation of a suicide assessment and intervention program for ED
patients.
Principal investigator: Runyan; Co-investigators: Betz, Brooks-Russell, Tung
Funding agency: National Institutes of Health (NIH): National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH)
Funding period: December 2014 to November 2016
Aim:
To examine, in the Mountain West, the potential adoption of emergency
department discharge practices that include counseling on limiting
access to guns during times of mental health crisis. Also, we will
examine the practices and perspectives of law enforcement, gun
retailers, and shooting range proprietors about offering temporary safe
storage of firearms for families of suicidal patients.
Funding agency: American Foundation for Suicide Prevention
Funding period: 10/1/2016-9/30/2019
About the project:
The SAFETY Study is a collaboration between Northeastern University,
the Colorado School of Public Health, and the Harvard T.H. Chan School
of Public Health. The project aims to understand parent responses to
safety counseling in the emergency department (ED). Ultimately, our goal
is to help prevent youth suicide by strengthening counseling for
parents of adolescents who visit the ED for a mental health emergency.
The SAFETY Study is working with several Colorado Hospitals. The study
has received approval from the Colorado Multiple Institutional Review
Board (COMIRB protocol #17-0205). If you have questions about the study
please contact Sara Brandspigel at sara.brandspigel@ucdenver.edu or
303-724-6998.
Program for Injury Prevention, Education & Research (PIPER)