Trauma is the leading cause of death in people ages 5 to 35. Alcohol is involved in up to 50% of injuries requiring hospital admission and in up to 50% of fatal motor vehicle crashes. Driving under the influence (DUI) of alcohol is one of the most preventable health problems in the United States, yet trauma centers that routinely care for injured intoxicated drivers rarely have formal alcohol intervention programs. Alcohol use and trauma both contribute significantly to the utilization of health care resources in the US. A significant number of trauma patients are recidivists both in regard to injury and driving under the influence of alcohol. The proposed plan of this project is to perform a controlled randomized trial of a brief alcohol intervention on intoxicated injured drivers and passengers of motor vehicle crashes to see if overall alcohol consumption, DUI and injury recidivism can be decreased. The overall goal of this application is to help the candidate, Carol R. Schermer, M.D., a practicing academic trauma surgeon, develop into an independent clinical investigator over the grant award period. Under the mentorship of William R. Miller Ph.D. and W. Gill Woodall, Ph.D. a career development plan has been formulated to achieve that goal. The career development plan includes obtaining a Masters in Public Health degree, advanced courses in statistics and research methodology, formal training in alcoholism and in the ethics of human research. The career development plan is designed to prepare Carol R. Schermer to independently perform alcohol prevention and outcomes research in the trauma setting.
| Schermer, Carol R; Moyers, Theresa B; Miller, William R et al. (2006) Trauma center brief interventions for alcohol disorders decrease subsequent driving under the influence arrests. J Trauma 60:29-34 |
| Schermer, Carol R (2005) Feasibility of alcohol screening and brief intervention. J Trauma 59:S119-23; discussion S124-33 |
| Schermer, Carol R; Bloomfield, Lori A; Lu, Stephen W et al. (2003) Trauma patient willingness to participate in alcohol screening and intervention. J Trauma 54:701-6 |
| Apodaca, Timothy R; Schermer, Carol R (2003) Readiness to change alcohol use after trauma. J Trauma 54:990-4 |
| Schermer, C R; Qualls, C R; Brown, C L et al. (2001) Intoxicated motor vehicle passengers: an overlooked at-risk population. Arch Surg 136:1244-8 |
| Schermer, C R; Apodaca, T R; Albrecht, R M et al. (2001) Intoxicated motor vehicle passengers warrant screening and treatment similar to intoxicated drivers. J Trauma 51:1083-6 |
