Challenges to conducting research in trauma
Research in Injury and Trauma presents unique challenges that set it apart from other areas of medical research.
Understanding and addressing these challenges are crucial for advancing knowledge and improving outcomes in the field. Here are some key challenges
TRAUMA OCCURS IN A SPLIT SECOND
Trauma events are sudden, unpredictable and occur in a split second. Lives are changed for ever in the blink of an eye.
Secondly, injuries occur due to a wide spectrum of causes (e.g road, industry, sports, work, interpersonal, natural disasters).
Both the unpredictability of this occurrence and the myriad ways in which it occurs, trauma (compared to other disease processes like cancer or diabetes or cardiac) poses challenges in planning research of the trauma incidents, and obviously in recruitment of willing volunteers for research, and obtaining standardised data.
TIME CRITICAL
Narrow Time window for research.
Nearly all traumatic incidents and injuries demand immediate medical attention.
Urgent and immediate pre hospital and hospital interventions are required to save lives, limbs, and to minimize long term consequences. This medical urgency limits the ability to conduct some types of high quality research trials (such as randomized controlled trials).
PREVENTION
The holy grail of all disease control is prevention.
Prevention of Injury is a complex challenge as injury and trauma occurs in many settings (roads, personal violence, farm, workplace, recreation, etc) and due to many causes. A large number of agencies, government departments and other regulatory bodies could do a lot more in collaborating and sharing data and information to reduce injury.
Our challenge and task is to pool information and data from many of these databases (e.g. Main Roads, Police, Hospitals, Ambulance, Worksafe etc) to provide a base from which experts in injury prevention can unpick the likely causative factors.
SOCIAL ATTITUDES, STIGMA & PERCEPTIONS
Trauma and Injury is perceived as less important compared to other medical research such as cancer, cardiac, diabetes and neurodegenerative diseases.
Unfortunately Injury and Trauma victims are frequently stigmatised and felt to be undeserving of public sympathy, or the generosity of philanthropists and donors.
LONG-TERM COMMITTMENT & OUTCOMES
Research in Trauma often requires long term studies and data collection over years to assess the effectiveness of interventions (including the effect of education of trauma clinicians on outcomes), rehabilitation programmes and prevention strategies.
This extended time frame for research outcomes can make it challenging to secure sustained funding and to demonstrate immediate outcomes, which some funding agencies, donors and philanthropists may desire.