Injury Prevention Research Center

An Iowa law that expanded roadway access for all-terrain vehicles (ATVs) and utility task vehicles (UTVs) was associated with increases in ATV/UTV crashes, severe injuries and deaths, and hospitalization costs, a University of Iowa study found.

Anne Helene Skinstad, emerita clinical professor of community and behavioral health in the University of Iowa College of Public Health, has dedicated her career to helping people with substance use and mental health disorders. A trained clinical psychologist, Skinstad is a national expert on behavioral health in Tribal communities, where drug overdose and suicide rates…

Farming is one of the nation’s most dangerous occupations. Add dementia or memory loss to the equation, and the risk of serious injury becomes even greater, according to a new University of Iowa study. The study, led by Kanika Arora, associate professor in the Department of Health Management and Policy in the University of Iowa…

Brenda Vergara is outreach program coordinator for the Injury Prevention and Community Outreach Program at University of Iowa Health Care Stead Family Children’s Hospital. She discusses ways families can keep children safer in cars, including avoiding common car seat mistakes, identifying counterfeit car seats, and preventing tragedies involving children left behind in dangerously hot vehicles…

In addition to teaching both undergraduate and graduate courses in health communications, public health policy approaches, and program evaluation, Anne Abbott, assistant professor in the School of Public and Population Health at Boise State University, is working to prevent teen mental health crises in Idaho through a community-academic partnership called Communities for Youth. Three years…

Josh Gautreaux, a PhD candidate in the Department of Occupational and Environmental Health, studies how veterans’ use of Veterans Administration (V.A.) services affects suicide rates during what is known as the ‘deadly gap’—the first year after a service member returns to civilian life, when veterans face an increased risk of suicide and substance use.

A new University of Iowa study found that mental illness is linked to violence overall, but not specifically to firearm violence or mass shootings.

Maggie Ferguson, project director for the Disability and Injury Prevention Programs at the Iowa Department of Health and Human Services, is shining a light on brain injury in Iowa – a common, often undiagnosed chronic condition that can cause lifelong challenges without an individual’s awareness. She discusses why lifetime brain injury screening is important, why…

Welcome to our first blog post of 2026! Here, we look back at some of our Center’s highlights in 2025. 

Together, two new University of Iowa studies shed light on road safety, one examining teenage drivers and passengers, and the other focusing on drivers across a broader range of ages. Key findings: Teens who perceived high parental monitoring engaged in fewer risky driving and passenger behaviors. Additionally, having passengers in the vehicle was associated with…