Research is critical to discovering innovative solutions to prevent the incidence and improve the consequences of injuries. We research cutting-edge interventions, evaluate injury prevention programs, and fund multidisciplinary projects to determine and implement best practices to prevent injuries. Our research focus areas include:
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Stepping Strong Injury Prevention Innovator Award. Beginning in 2019, The Gillian Reny Stepping Strong Center for Trauma Innovation started funding research projects designed to develop and evaluate novel injury prevention interventions. As with other Stepping Strong Innovator Award projects, the center’s model is to provide seed funding to innovative, high-reward projects that require preliminary research and development before securing larger grants from industry partners or public health organizations.
How to Talk About Firearm Safety. Led by Stepping Strong Innovator Award recipient Eric Goralnick, MD, this project explores patient-centered approaches to initiating conversations about firearm safety in clinical settings. Physicians are often encouraged to talk to their patients about presence of firearms in the home and best practices for preventing firearm injury at home, but they do not receive formal training to help them address this potentially sensitive topic. Goralnick is working with experts from the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health and Northeastern University to develop a training program to help physicians talk to their patients about firearm safety.
Functional Outcomes and Recovery after Trauma Emergencies (FORTE). Led by trauma researcher Juan Herrera-Escobar, MD, the FORTE project keeps in contact with trauma patients from Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Massachusetts General Hospital, and Boston Medical Center as they recover from an injury. By interviewing patients during their first year following their injury, we are learning more about the challenges many people face as they return to work and social activities. In addition to his research work, Herrera-Escobar ran in the Chicago Marathon in support of the Stepping Strong Center.