Frederick P Rivara, MD, MPH

Professional History

Board Certified:

Pediatrics

Medical/Professional School:

University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, Philadelphia

Clinical Interests:

General pediatrics, Injury prevention

Research Focus Area:

Health Promotion and Disease Prevention

Description of Research:

I have devoted my career to studying childhood injury and injury prevention. I have conducted seminal research on the effectiveness of bicycle helmets and developed programs to promote helmet use that have been copied and implemented around the world. These programs have led to a significant reduction in the number of children sustaining bicycle-related traumatic brain injury and death.

My research has contributed to a better understanding of the role of gun ownership in violence in the home, the impact of intimate partner violence on the family, the societal costs of intimate partner violence, the epidemiology and prevention of pedestrian injuries, the outcome after trauma in children and adults, the role of alcohol in trauma and the effect of brief intervention programs on reducing alcohol use, and the prevention of alcohol abuse.

My current research is on the long term disability after traumatic brain injury in children, interventions to reduce the prevalence of PTSD after traumatic injury in adolescents, and the genetic factors associated with poor recovery from trauma. I am the author of over 390 publications, the majority on injury control.

Key Publications:

Injury Control. A Guide to Research and Program Evaluation. Rivara FP, Cummings P, Koepsell TD, Grossman DC, Maier RV (editors). Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 2001.

Rivara FP, Anderson ML, Fishman P, Bonomi AE, Reid RJ, Carrell D, Thompson RS. Healthcare utilization and costs for women with a history of intimate partner violence. Am J Prev Med. 2007 Feb;32(2):89-96

MacKenzie EJ, Rivara FP, Jurkovich GJ, Nathens AB, Frey KP, Egleston BL, Salkever DS, Scharfstein DO. A national evaluation of the effect of trauma-center care on mortality. N Engl J Med. 2006 Jan 26;354(4):366-378.

Rivara FP, Garrison MM, Ebel B, McCarty CA, Christakis DA. Mortality Attributable to Harmful Drinking in the United States, 2000. J Studies on Alcohol. 2004 Jul: 65(4): 530-536

Honors & Awards:

Editor acline of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine

Elected Member of the Institute of Medicine

Seattle Magazine Top Doctor, 2006

Seattle Metropolitan Magazine Top Doctor, 2006

Charles C. Shepard Science Award, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 1998

Stanley Stamm Award for Best Role Model for Pediatric Housestaff, 1999