This proposal describes the plans for The Ohio State University (OSU) to join the Center for Child Injury Prevention Studies (CChIPS) as a NSF funded Multi-University Industry/University Cooperative Research Center (I/UCRC). CChIPS is the nations first and only I/UCRC focused on child injury prevention, with a specific emphasis on injury due to traffic accidents. The mission of CCHIPS is to advance the safety of children, youth, and young adults (through age 24 years) by facilitating the conduct of scientific inquiry into their injuries and by translating these findings into commercial applications, interventions, policies, and public education programs for prevention. The initial technical focus of the Ohio State site will be the same standard defined by CChIPS over the last five years, but with an emphasis on sports related injuries, including concussion issues for children, youth, and young adults.
The broader impact of this center with the inclusion of the Ohio State University will be the saving of lives; lives of children and young adults. By preventing the needless loss of life, the economic benefits are also apparent with reduced need for medical personnel in the treatment of crash injuries. This should free up the resources and make them available for other medical priorities. The proposed effort will educate students in this field as well as educate the general public via the knowledge created from the work.
