Transport Safety Research Centre
Key interests
Health Impacts Research
The continuing impact of crashes and injuries on individuals and society is a large part of the overall cost and the Centre is using its accident studies as the basis for further long-term research.
The consequences of injuries measured in terms of threat to life, impairment and disability motivate a continuing programme of research within the Centre. The changing nature of the physical and mental health of traffic and other casualties as their injuries heal is a developing research theme.
Featured projects
Researchers within the Centre have followed the recovery of traffic casualties and have been able to measure changes in their physical and mental health.
Health loss and quality of life questionnaires were used to evaluate health impacts on casualties and although most of the casualties recovered well there were major financial consequences over the healing period and considerable impacts on the casualty's mental health.
This work has continued within a project conducted jointly with Nottingham University under a CLAHRC (Collaboration for Leadership in Applied Research and Care) study supported by the National Institute of Health Research. The team will follow a cohort of traffic casualties over a four year period to assess the impacts on depression and mental health. The project is seen as the successor to the UK Burden of Injury Study.
The impacts of health on crash risk are also evaluated at the Centre. Researchers within the Team been able to gather information about prescription medications use of drivers involved in crashes. The relationship to the nature of the collision will be evaluated and specific high-risk medicines identified.
People
TSRC team members conducting research in this area include: