Trauma Triage
The Intersection of Epidemiology and Emergency Care
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r. Tabitha Garwe is no stranger to interdisciplinary research. She is an associate professor of epidemiology at the Hudson College of Public Health. She also holds a joint faculty appointment with the Department of Surgery in the OU College of Medicine, where she is the director of surgical outcomes research. In this position, Garwe collaborates with the Department of Surgery faculty to design and analyze research studies. “They bring the clinical aspect of the research to the table,” she says, “and I help design the study, advise them how the data should be collected, analyze the data, and then discuss findings with the principal investigator.” This is a fantastic example of interdisciplinary research and collaboration. When prompted for her definition of interdisciplinary, Garwe responds, “It’s when people with different skills come together to do research.” She explains that interdisciplinary research is “more translational because it involves different aspects and opinions of people with unique skill sets trying to solve the same problem.” One of the many benefits is that this encourages diversity of thought, which generally results in the best solutions. When Garwe joined the Department of Surgery, she mainly focused on trauma research. As the only level I trauma center in Oklahoma, OU Health is required to conduct research to maintain certification. In Oklahoma, hospitals are classified from level I through level IV, with level I providing the highest level of trauma care and level IV signifying more rural hospitals. The main difference between level I and level II trauma centers is that level I trauma centers are university teaching hospitals and are required to conduct research. In the Department of Surgery, Garwe’s primary role is to ensure residents and faculty conduct trauma research. In addition to working with faculty and residents, Garwe also works as an independent researcher. For the past 15 years, she has researched trauma triage. Her interest in this field began with her doctoral dissertation and has continued with her current research. “My focus is on how injured patients are triaged and how it affects their health outcomes,” says Garwe. This includes triage from the scene of injury to the initial hospital and from the initial hospital to a higher level of trauma care. Garwe explains that when emergency medical personnel report to a scene with an injured person, the paramedics have to decide where to take the patient. “If all of the patients came to OU, it would overwhelm the system,” notes Garwe. “Since OU has the resources to treat the most severely injured, we want to ensure those resources are there when needed.” In essence, the trauma system aims to match the severity of a patient’s injury to the hospital with the appropriate level of trauma care. This ensures that the system functions efficiently and we don’t end up taking seriously injured patients to hospitals that don’t have the resources to care for them. It also means we don’t take patients with minor injuries to hospitals equipped to care for the severely injured. Garwe’s research aims to optimize this system. Oklahoma only has two level II trauma centers (both in Tulsa) along with the level I trauma
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OU Public Health | fall 2023
OU Public Health | fall 2023
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