JH-IIRU Launches New Trauma Care Initiative in the Sultanate of Oman

On March 5, 2014, the Johns Hopkins International Injury Research Unit (JH-IIRU) will formally launch “Improving Trauma Care Systems to Reduce the Burden of Road Traffic Injuries in the Sultanate of Oman,” with a signing ceremony in Muscat.

The project will assess the trauma systems in order to improve hospital and pre-hospital care. The first stages of the project will engage members of the Omani government and The Research Council (TRC) as well as potential stakeholders and collaborators, such as the Ministry of Health and academic institutions such Sultan Qaboos University.

In February, JH-IIRU team members Amber Mehmood, Kent Stevens and Katharine Allen visited several hospitals, including the Royal Hospital, the Armed Forces Hospital, Khoula Hospital Sultan Qaboos University Hospital, Sohaar Hospital and Nizwa Hospital for potential collaborations.

JH-IIRU director, Adnan Hyder will participate in the signing ceremony, which will also include H.E. Dr. Hilal Al Hinai, Secretary General of The Research Council; Dr. Saif Al Hiddabi, member of the steering committee of the national road safety program; and Dr. Talal Al Belushi, board member Oman Road Safety Association (ORSA)

Next steps for the project will include both quantitative and qualitative assessment of various components of trauma care in Oman, training workshops for clinical and research capacity building in trauma/injury prevention and pilot testing hospital based trauma registries.