Barbara Barlow

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Barbara Barlow is an American pediatric surgeon who was the first woman to train in pediatric surgery at Babies Hospital, present-day Morgan Stanley Children's Hospital. She has also reduced the amount of injuries for inner-city children through her research and efforts to educate the public on prevention of accidents. [1]

Contents

Early life and education

Barlow was born in a rural town in Pennsylvania in 1938. Her mother returned to school and obtained a degree in Psychology in 1954 after her father's death in order to become a guidance counselor and assistant professor and support Barlow and her sister. From her mother, Barlow learned the importance of and found the inspiration to work hard in life. Barlow went on to study Psychology at Vassar College in New York and then attended the Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York City and earned her M.D. degree in 1967. She then received a training fellowship at Babies Hospital Columbia University Medical Center, where she was the first woman to ever train in pediatric surgery there. [1]

Career

While completing her residency in the Bronx, Barlow noticed the severe lack of quality pediatric care in the area. She was inspired to provide children living in lower socio-economic areas with the same care that middle- and upper-class children received. One thing she particularly noticed was the number of preventable accidents the children in the area suffered from. Upon researching, she found that the injury rate for the Bronx and surrounding area was twice the national average. She also found that the most severe accidents were caused by falls from windows. She was one of the key figures in a New York City ordinance that required landlords to install window guards and participated in the educational campaign "Children Can't Fly," which warned parents about the risk of children falling from high-rise building windows. The campaign, which was created in the early 1970s, created a law that stated in apartments where small children live, there must be window guards. [2] Also, the campaign employed nurses to go and check on children who were reported to have fallen. [2] The nurses also are able to help the parents in dealing with the situation and provide advice to prevent it from happening again. [2] Within the Bronx district, the reported number of falls has decreased by 50%. [2] Injuries due to children falling out of windows in the Washington Heights neighborhood decreased by 96 percent by 1981. [1]

The conditions of community spaces, such as school playgrounds in the Harlem neighborhood and streets where young children frequently played after school, were also a concern of Barlow. In 1988 she began work on improving Harlem's playgrounds with the help of a grant from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation by working with an architect to design low-cost playground equipment. Also in 1988, she helped create the Injury Prevention Program at Harlem Hospital Center. This program helped to decrease the occurrence of injuries in children. The program was able to help lower the rate of injuries in children by improving education, building better playgrounds, and also providing supervised mentors to watch the children. She has continued her work on injury prevention in children for the past 15 years. [3] Since 1991, Harlem has gotten 40 plus new playgrounds and numerous new after-school activities are offered through community organizations. [1]

Barlow also founded "Injury Free Coalition for Kids," through which she has been able to ensure that similar programs are operating in cities across the nation, such as Los Angeles, Atlanta, Philadelphia. The "Injury Free Coalition for Kids" has implemented Injury Prevention Programs in 42 different trauma centers. [4] This program helps promote safe ways for children when playing outside. The program also brings more medical professionals into an area where injury is prone in order to reduce the rates of injury. [4] She continues her work through the National Association of Children's Hospitals. [1]

Barlow is now retired. Her last position was a professor in epidemiology at Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health in New York. [4]

Honors and awards

Barlow has received multiple awards for her "Injury Free Coalition for Kids" Program. She was the recipient of the CDC Foundation Hero Award in 2011. [4] She has also been recognized and given awards from many different organizations such as the American Hospital Association, the American Academy of Pediatrics, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, the National Safety Council, the American Trauma Society, and the American Public Health Association. [4]

Publications

The following is a list of publications Barbara Barlow has contributed to during her medical career.

Related Research Articles

A trauma center, or trauma centre, is a hospital equipped and staffed to provide care for patients suffering from major traumatic injuries such as falls, motor vehicle collisions, or gunshot wounds. A trauma center may also refer to an emergency department without the presence of specialized services to care for victims of major trauma.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Major trauma</span> Injury that could cause prolonged disability or death

Major trauma is any injury that has the potential to cause prolonged disability or death. There are many causes of major trauma, blunt and penetrating, including falls, motor vehicle collisions, stabbing wounds, and gunshot wounds. Depending on the severity of injury, quickness of management, and transportation to an appropriate medical facility may be necessary to prevent loss of life or limb. The initial assessment is critical, and involves a physical evaluation and also may include the use of imaging tools to determine the types of injuries accurately and to formulate a course of treatment.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Traumatic brain injury</span> Injury of the brain from an external source

A traumatic brain injury (TBI), also known as an intracranial injury, is an injury to the brain caused by an external force. TBI can be classified based on severity ranging from mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI/concussion) to severe traumatic brain injury. TBI can also be characterized based on mechanism or other features. Head injury is a broader category that may involve damage to other structures such as the scalp and skull. TBI can result in physical, cognitive, social, emotional and behavioral symptoms, and outcomes can range from complete recovery to permanent disability or death.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Needlestick injury</span> Accidental puncture of skin causing contamination

A needlestick injury is the penetration of the skin by a hypodermic needle or other sharp object that has been in contact with blood, tissue or other body fluids before the exposure. Even though the acute physiological effects of a needlestick injury are generally negligible, these injuries can lead to transmission of blood-borne diseases, placing those exposed at increased risk of infection from disease-causing pathogens, such as the hepatitis B virus (HBV), hepatitis C virus (HCV), and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). Among healthcare workers and laboratory personnel worldwide, more than 25 blood-borne virus infections have been reported to have been caused by needlestick injuries. In addition to needlestick injuries, transmission of these viruses can also occur as a result of contamination of the mucous membranes, such as those of the eyes, with blood or body fluids, but needlestick injuries make up more than 80% of all percutaneous exposure incidents in the United States. Various other occupations are also at increased risk of needlestick injury, including law enforcement, laborers, tattoo artists, food preparers, and agricultural workers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rib fracture</span> Break in a rib bone

A rib fracture is a break in a rib bone. This typically results in chest pain that is worse with inspiration. Bruising may occur at the site of the break. When several ribs are broken in several places a flail chest results. Potential complications include a pneumothorax, pulmonary contusion, and pneumonia.

Atlanto-occipital dislocation, orthopedic decapitation, or internal decapitation describes ligamentous separation of the spinal column from the skull base. It is possible for a human to survive such an injury; however, 70% of cases result in immediate death. It should not be confused with atlanto-axial dislocation, which describes ligamentous separation between the first and second cervical vertebra.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lincoln Hospital (Bronx)</span> Hospital in New York, United States

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The Brain Trauma Foundation (BTF) was founded in 1986 to develop research on traumatic brain injury (TBI). Since its formation the foundation's mission has expanded to improving the outcome of TBI patients nationwide through working to implement evidence-based guidelines for prehospital and in-hospital care, quality-improvement programs, and coordinating educational programs for medical professionals.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pulmonary contusion</span> Internal bruise of the lungs

A pulmonary contusion, also known as lung contusion, is a bruise of the lung, caused by chest trauma. As a result of damage to capillaries, blood and other fluids accumulate in the lung tissue. The excess fluid interferes with gas exchange, potentially leading to inadequate oxygen levels (hypoxia). Unlike pulmonary laceration, another type of lung injury, pulmonary contusion does not involve a cut or tear of the lung tissue.

The July effect, sometimes referred to as the July phenomenon, is a perceived but scientifically unfounded increase in the risk of medical errors and surgical complications that occurs in association with the time of year in which United States medical school graduates begin residencies. A similar period in the United Kingdom is known as the killing season or, more specifically, Black Wednesday, referring to the first Wednesday in August when postgraduate trainees commence their rotations.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Trauma in children</span> Medical condition

Trauma in children, also known as pediatric trauma, refers to a traumatic injury that happens to an infant, child or adolescent. Because of anatomical and physiological differences between children and adults the care and management of this population differs.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Peter M. Rhee</span> American surgeon

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The Trauma Quality Improvement Program (TQIP) was initiated in 2008 by the American College of Surgeons Committee on Trauma. Its aim is to provide risk-adjusted data for the purpose of reducing variability in adult trauma outcomes and offering best practice guidelines to improve trauma care. TQIP makes use of national data to allows hospitals to objectively evaluate their trauma centers' performance relative to other hospitals. TQIP's administrative costs are less than those of other programs, making it an accessible tool for assessing performance and enhancing quality of trauma care.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Müller AO Classification of fractures</span>

The Müller AO Classification of fractures is a system for classifying bone fractures initially published in 1987 by the AO Foundation as a method of categorizing injuries according to therognosis of the patient's anatomical and functional outcome. "AO" is an initialism for the German "Arbeitsgemeinschaft für Osteosynthesefragen", the predecessor of the AO Foundation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tactical Combat Casualty Care</span> United States military guidelines for prehospital trauma care

Tactical Combat Casualty Care are the United States military guidelines for trauma life support in prehospital combat medicine, designed to reduce preventable deaths while maintaining operation success. The TCCC guidelines are routinely updated and published by the Committee on Tactical Combat Casualty Care (CoTCCC), which is part of the Defense Committees on Trauma (DCoT) division of the Defense Health Agency (DHA). TCCC was designed in the 1990s for the Special Operations Command medical community. Originally a joint Naval Special Warfare Command and Special Operations Medical Research & Development initiative, CoTCCC developed combat-appropriate and evidence-based trauma care based on injury patterns of previous conflicts. The original TCCC corpus was published in a Military Medicine supplement in 1996. TCCC has since become a Department of Defense (DoD) course, conducted by National Association of Emergency Medical Technicians.

A child access prevention law makes it illegal for an adult to keep a gun in a place and manner so that a child can easily access and fire it. Proponents of these laws, such as the Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence in the United States, argue that they are effective at reducing accidental gun deaths among children, since they reduce accessibility and thereby risk. The National Rifle Association of America has lobbied against such laws, arguing that they are ineffective and infringe on the rights of gun owners to protect their homes.

Joseph V. Sakran is an American trauma surgeon, public health researcher, gun violence prevention advocate and activist. His career in medicine and trauma surgery was sparked after nearly being killed at the age of 17 when he was shot in the throat. He is currently an associate professor of surgery at the Johns Hopkins University, director of Emergency General Surgery at Johns Hopkins Hospital, and vice chair of Clinical Operations. He also serves as the Associate Chief for the Division of Acute Care Surgery.

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References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 "Dr. Barbara Barlow". Changing the Face of Medicine. National Library of Medicine. Retrieved 23 February 2014.
  2. 1 2 3 4 "WHO | Children Can't Fly campaign, New York, United States of America". WHO. Archived from the original on February 13, 2009. Retrieved 2019-05-01.
  3. ↑ "BARBARA BARLOW, M.D.| Alumni | Albert Einstein College of Medicine". www.einstein.yu.edu. Retrieved 2019-04-20.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 "Dr. Barbara Barlow Receives CDC Foundation Hero Award | CDC Foundation". www.cdcfoundation.org. Retrieved 2019-05-01.
  5. ↑ Johnson EL, Barlow B (October 2016). "A brief history of Forging New Frontiers, the annual conference of the Injury Free Coalition for Kids". The Journal of Trauma and Acute Care Surgery. 81 (4 Suppl 1): S67-8. doi:10.1097/TA.0000000000001174. PMID   27389140.
  6. ↑ Pressley JC, Kendig TD, Frencher SK, Barlow B, Quitel L, Waqar F (November 2011). "Epidemiology of bone fracture across the age span in blacks and whites". The Journal of Trauma. 71 (5 Suppl 2): S541-8. doi:10.1097/TA.0b013e31823a4d58. PMC   3274822 . PMID   22072044.
  7. ↑ Frencher SK, Benedicto CM, Kendig TD, Herman D, Barlow B, Pressley JC (October 2010). "A comparative analysis of serious injury and illness among homeless and housed low income residents of New York City". The Journal of Trauma. 69 (4 Suppl): S191-9. doi:10.1097/TA.0b013e3181f1d31e. PMID   20938307.
  8. ↑ Pressley JC, Benedicto CB, Trieu L, Kendig T, Barlow B (July 2009). "Motor vehicle injury, mortality, and hospital charges by strength of graduated driver licensing laws in 36 States". The Journal of Trauma. 67 (1 Suppl): S43-53. doi:10.1097/TA.0b013e3181937f4f. PMID   19590354.
  9. ↑ Pressley JC, Kiragu A, Lapidus G, Pomerantz WJ, Ford H, Barlow B (July 2009). "Race and ethnic differences in a multicenter study of home safety with vouchers redeemable for free safety devices". The Journal of Trauma. 67 (1 Suppl): S3-11. doi:10.1097/TA.0b013e3181ac1a7d. PMID   19590350.
  10. ↑ Pressley JC, Trieu L, Barlow B, Kendig T (July 2009). "Motor vehicle occupant injury and related hospital expenditures in children aged 3 years to 8 years covered versus uncovered by booster seat legislation". The Journal of Trauma. 67 (1 Suppl): S20-9. doi:10.1097/TA.0b013e3181951a90. PMID   19590349.
  11. ↑ Barlow B (March 2009). "Forging new frontiers". The Journal of Trauma. 66 (3 Suppl): S2. doi:10.1097/TA.0b013e3181982f4b. PMID   19276722.
  12. ↑ Pressley JC, Trieu L, Kendig T, Barlow B (September 2007). "National injury-related hospitalizations in children: public versus private expenditures across preventable injury mechanisms". The Journal of Trauma. 63 (3 Suppl): S10-9. doi:10.1097/TA.0b013e31812f5ea7. PMID   17823577.
  13. ↑ Pressley JC, Barlow B, Kendig T, Paneth-Pollak R (April 2007). "Twenty-year trends in fatal injuries to very young children: the persistence of racial disparities". Pediatrics. 119 (4): e875-84. doi:10.1542/peds.2006-2412. PMID   17403830. S2CID   36270554.
  14. ↑ Pressley JC, Barlow B, Quitel L, Jafri A (April 2007). "Improving access to comprehensive injury risk assessment and risk factor reduction in older adult populations". American Journal of Public Health. 97 (4): 676–8. doi:10.2105/AJPH.2006.091140. PMC   1829339 . PMID   17329643.
  15. ↑ Pressley JC, Barlow B, Durkin M, Jacko SA, Dominguez DR, Johnson L (September 2005). "A national program for injury prevention in children and adolescents: the injury free coalition for kids". Journal of Urban Health. 82 (3): 389–402. doi:10.1093/jurban/jti078. PMC   3456057 . PMID   15958785.
  16. ↑ Pressley JC, Barlow B (May 2004). "Preventing injury and injury-related disability in children and adolescents". Seminars in Pediatric Surgery. 13 (2): 133–40. doi:10.1053/j.sempedsurg.2004.01.010. PMID   15362284.
  17. ↑ Zuckerbraun NS, Powell EC, Sheehan KM, Uyeda A, Rehm KP, Barlow B (June 2004). "Community childhood injury surveillance: an emergency department-based model". Pediatric Emergency Care. 20 (6): 361–6. doi:10.1097/01.pec.0000133609.04581.9f. PMID   15179143. S2CID   24611902.
  18. ↑ Spicer RS, Miller TR, Durkin MS, Barlow B (March 2004). "A benefit-cost analysis of the Harlem hospital injury prevention program". Injury Control and Safety Promotion. 11 (1): 55–7. doi:10.1076/icsp.11.1.55.26306. PMID   14977506. S2CID   26744634.
  19. ↑ Oluwole SF, Ali AO, Adu A, Blane BP, Barlow B, Oropeza R, Freeman HP (February 2003). "Impact of a cancer screening program on breast cancer stage at diagnosis in a medically underserved urban community". Journal of the American College of Surgeons. 196 (2): 180–8. doi:10.1016/S1072-7515(02)01765-9. PMID   12595043.
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