North Texas professor awarded two grants

December 11, 2012 • Uncategorized

Fernando A. Wilson, PhD, assistant professor of Health Management & Policy in the School of Public Health at UNT Health Science Center, Fort Worth, Texas, has recently been awarded two grants.

Dr. Wilson’s first grant, funded through the Robert Wood Johnson (RWJ) Foundation’s Public Health Law Research program, is titled “Electronic Device Use and Distracted Driving Fatalities: Do State Regulations Matter?”  The purpose of this RWJ program is to build the evidence for and strengthen the use of regulatory, legal and policy solutions to improve public health and help people lead healthier lives. With distracted driving as a result of electronic device use becoming a major public health threat, Dr. Wilson plans to evaluate the comparative effectiveness of state laws restricting use of electronic devices while driving in reducing fatalities on public roads.

The second grant, a UNT Health Science Center (UNTHSC) junior faculty seed grant, will study “Adversity in Health Care: the Role of Race and Ethnicity in Vehicle Crashes.” UNTHSC seed grants are designed to support pilot studies, preliminary data collection, secondary data analysis and other research activities that will likely result in larger extramural support. Dr. Wilson’s study will examine race/ethnic disparities in motor vehicle crash and medical treatment outcomes for crash victims in Texas.