Summary/Abstract The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that there are over a billion people across the globe who suffer from disabilities, with injuries and trauma listed as among the leading causes of disability. Most of them reside in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). Southeast Asia has one of the highest burdens of both trauma and injuries, and related disabilities (Murray 2013). In Vietnam, while mortality due to injuries has declined since 2008, the incidence of injuries has been increasing, which has led to significant increases in Years Lived with Disabilities (YLDs) for most injuries (Nguyen 2020). Addressing this growing burden of post- injury disabilities and the need for rehabilitation is a key priority area for the government of Vietnam. However, in Vietnam and across Southeast Asia, there is limited local capacity for conducting research on the consequences of injuries and post-injury rehabilitation, which would inform national policy and programmatic responses. The absence of comprehensive training programs in the science of disability and rehabilitation, and the social and economic impact within the larger public health sector in Vietnam, create a serious impediment to analytic work in this field. This proposal offers a plan to address the growing need for understanding and tackling the consequences of injuries and post-injury rehabilitation in Vietnam. The proposed 2021-2026 Johns Hopkins University-Hanoi University of Public Health Research Program on Health, Economic and Societal consequences of trauma and injuries in Vietnam (JHU-Hanoi HEalS) will build on a strong existing partnership between JHU and HUPH. Through this proposed program, we will build on existing research and collaborations between our teams at JHU and HUPH in the larger field of health research and public health from recent years. The overall goal of the Johns Hopkins University-Hanoi University of Public Health Research Program on Health, Economic and Societal consequences of trauma and injuries in Vietnam (JHU-Hanoi HEalS) is to strengthen research capacity to generate data and interventions to address the rehabilitation needs of individuals post-injury and trauma in Vietnam, as well as the long term health, economic, and societal consequences of trauma and injuries. Our approach will be based on close collaboration between two institutions – Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health (JHU), USA, and Hanoi University of Public Health (HUPH), Vietnam – each with a great commitment to understanding the public health impact of trauma and injuries, experience and expertise in research and a history of collaborative work. Our model will focus on using US expertise to strengthen the Vietnamese institution, promote a sustainable research enterprise focused on injuries and trauma and their consequences, leadership, national policy dialogue, and international linkages to Vietnam.

Narrative The proposed Johns Hopkins University-Hanoi University of Public Health Research Program on Health, Economic and Societal consequences of trauma and injuries in Vietnam (JHU-Hanoi HEalS) will build capacity for research on the consequences of injury, and post injury rehabilitation within health systems in Vietnam. We will develop a core group of researchers through a long-term training sequence for students in the Hanoi University of Public Health’s MPH, Master of Hospital Management degree program and program on rehabilitation to ensure sustainable research capacity development in the region. We will create a center of excellence for research on the consequences of injury and post injury rehabilitation at HUPH, where we will also offer non-degree short-term trainings such as workshops, online courses, and webinars on key priority topics.