Outreach

The outreach activities of the WVU ICRC are largely fueled by the research findings and expertise of Center faculty.  In addition to the traditional mechanisms for communicating new research-based knowledge to the research community (e.g., peer-reviewed scientific publications and conference presentations and posters), the Center is committed to translating new research knowledge to the wide variety of Center non-academic partners and constituents. A variety of innovations have been designed and are being implemented to accelerate the adoption of research-based injury prevention interventions and programs into injury prevention practice and public policy. These approaches include Knowledge Translation and Exchange (KTE), e-dissemination (i.e., Web-based); social media marketing; and information tailoring, or customization.  We are also incorporating new evaluation procedures to specifically examine the quality of our partnerships and the KTE needs of our partners. Critical audiences targeted by ICRC include injury prevention program leaders in state and local government agencies and nongovernment organizations;, policymakers; reporters and editors for mainstream print and broadcast media channels; participants in social media channels/networks; safety and health communicators, advocates, and educators; and interested members of the public—in short the broad and diverse injury prevention community.

ICRC research interests address issues with local community, state, regional and national relevance, and the outreach program has been designed to scale to meet specific communications, dissemination, technical assistance, and knowledge translation challenges as they emerge.

ICRC is engaged in building partnerships with other injury prevention centers, including regional injury prevention research and education programs, state and local violence and injury prevention programs, and national level associations and agencies.  ICRC is particularly interested in becoming the trusted source of credible and useful information on the risk and prevention of fatal and nonfatal injuries for the Appalachian region, as well as a source of technical assistance and expertise to meet partners’ support needs.  West Virginia, the only state which is located entirely within Appalachia, and the 12 additional states with counties and municipalities that lie within Appalachia, face similar and unique risks.

As the outreach efforts of ICRC develop and mature, increasing risk and prevention content will be available on this Center Website, including Research Alerts, which are brief, lay-oriented summaries of peer-reviewed article authored or co-authored by ICRC affiliate faculty members; Injury Topic Syntheses, which summarize and evaluate the available risk and prevention information for selected injury topics; and an Injury Prevention Clearinghouse, which will provide electronic access to a wide array of risk and prevention publications and programs.