HAPPENINGS Injured Farmers Take Longer to Get Trauma Care A University of Iowa College of Public Health study shows that farmers who suffer an on-the-job injury take more time to arrive at a hospital that provides the specialized trauma care they need than workers in other industries. The study found that median time to care was one hour longer for farmers than other workers. It took farmers 2 hours and 46 minutes to arrive at a definitive trauma care center, compared to 1 hour 48 minutes for people who suffer rural, non-farm work injuries. However, that difference came in the first two hours after the injury was reported. For injuries that took longer than two hours to reach definitive trauma care, differences in farm and rural non-farm injuries had similar times to access care. Corinne Peek-Asa, professor of occupational and environmental health and study co-author, says the differences were primarily due to the time it takes to discover the injury and for medical personnel to reach the injured person. Once paramedics arrive, the time to provide care and begin transport was similar for all injuries. Peek-Asa says that extra time can often make a difference in a person’s recovery time, or even life or death. The study was published in the journal Injury Epidemiology. It was co-authored by James Torner, UI professor of epidemiology, and Amanda Swanton of Dartmouth College.
18 INSIGHT FALL 2020
Peek-Asa Elected to the National Academy of Medicine Corinne Peek-Asa, associate dean for research and professor of occupational and environmental health in the University of Iowa College of Public Health, has been elected to the National Academy of Medicine. Election to the academy is considered one of the highest honors in the fields of health and medicine and recognizes individuals who have demonstrated outstanding professional achievement and commitment to service. Peek-Asa is internationally renowned for her research in injury and violence prevention. Her work includes studies of global roadtraffic safety, interpersonal violence, workplace safety, traumatic brain injury, and adverse childhood experiences and trauma. Her research has inspired national legislation, and she helped develop injury and violence data collection systems in five countries. “Dr. Peek-Asa’s valuable contributions to the field of injury prevention have helped improve the health and safety of people all over the world,” says Edith Parker, dean of the College of Public Health. “We’re very proud of her accomplishments and this welldeserved recognition from the National Academy of Medicine.”
