Mary Aitken, MD, MPH
Professor of Pediatrics, University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences/College of Medicine/Department of Pediatrics
Phone: (501) 364-1100

Research Overview

Dr. Aitken is a professor in the Department of Pediatrics, University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences. In 2006, she was appointed as the Director for the Center for Applied Research and Evaluation (CARE). She attended the University of North Carolina School of Medicine and completed a pediatrics residency at Johns Hopkins Hospital. Dr. Aitken also received a Master’s in Public Health with a concentration in epidemiology during a general academic pediatrics fellowship at the University of Washington. Dr. Aitken is a general pediatrician with clinical activities based at Arkansas Children’s Hospital. She participates in resident and student education in the outpatient and inpatient setting and with the education of public health students at the UAMS College of Public Health. Dr. Aitken’s research interests include primary prevention of injury and assessment of health status and outcomes following traumatic brain injury. She has received support for her projects from Federal (HRSA, CDC, NIH), state, and private funders.

Aitken ME, Miller BK, Anderson BL, Jo CH, Swearingen C, Monroe KW, Daniels D, O’Neill J, Scherer LR, Hafner J, Mullins SM.  Trial of a community sports intervention to increase booster seat use in rural communities. In press, J Rural Health.

Rouse HL, Aitken ME, Lein SD, Leath KJ, Thompson JW, Halverson P.  Statewide Policies for Safer Teen Driving: An Evaluation of the Impact of Graduated Driver Licensing in Arkansas. In press, Journal of Trauma.

Adams L, Aitken ME, Mullins SM, Miller BK, Eoff S, Graham J.  Barriers and facilitators to use of all-terrain vehicle helmets.  In press, Journal of Trauma.

Kuo DZ, Sisterhen LL, Sigrest TE, Biazo JM, Aitken ME, Smith CE.  The impact of family-centered rounds on pediatric health care. Pediatrics. 2012 Aug;130(2):299-305. 

Helmkamp J, Aitken ME, Graham J, Campbell CR.  State-specific ATV-related fatality rates:  an update for the new millennium. Public Health Reports. 2012; 127: 364-374. 

Huskins WC, Sullivan CD, Wang J, Aitken M, Alexander SR, Epstein LG, Hoberman A, Neufeld E, Philipps A, Shanley TP, Szilagyi P, Purucker M, Barkin SL.  Tracking the impact of the National Institutes of Health Clinical and Translational Science Awards on child health research:  developing and evaluating a measurement strategy.  Pediatric Research. Advance online publication 7 March 2012. doi:10.1038/pr.2012.5.

Brann M, Mullins SM, Miller BK, Eoff S, Graham J, Aitken ME.  Making the message meaningful: A qualitative evaluation of media promoting all-terrain vehicle safety. Inj Prev. 2012 Aug;18(4):234-9. 

Whiteside-Mansell L, Johnson D., Aitken ME, Bokony PA, Conners-Burrow NA , McKelvey, L .  Head Start and Unintended Injury:  The Use of the Family Map Interview to Document Risk.  Early Childhood Education Journal. 2011;38: 33-41.

Williams RS, Graham J, Helmkamp JC, Dick R, Thompson T, Aitken ME.  A trial of an all-terrain vehicle safety education video in a community-based hunter education program.  J Rural Health. 2011;27(3):255-62.

Graham J, Newton BW, Gaddy D, Tariq S, Aitken ME. Development of a longitudinal injury prevention curriculum for undergraduate medical students. Inj Prev. 2010 Aug;16(4):267-71. 

Whiteside-Mansell L, Johnson D, Aitken M, Bokony PA, Conners-Burrow NA, McKelvey L. Head Start and Unintended Injury: The Use of the Family Map Interview to Document Risk. Early Childhood Education Journal. 2010;38:33-41.

Bowman SM, Aitken ME.  Still unsafe, still in use: ongoing epidemic of all-terrain vehicle injury hospitalizations among children.  J Trauma.  2010;69(6):1344-9.

James C. Helmkamp, Mary E. Aitken, Bruce A. Lawrence. ATV and Bicycle Deaths and Associated Costs in the United States, 2000–2005. Public Health Reports / May–June 2009 / Volume 124, pp 409-418.

Bowman SM, Aitken ME, Sharp GB. Disparities in injury death location for people with epilepsy/seizures. Epilepsy Behav. 2010 Mar;17(3):369-72.

Bowman SM, Aitken ME, Sharp GB. Disparities in hospital outcomes for injured people with epilepsy/seizures. Epilepsia. 2010 May;51(5):862-7.

Graham J, Newton BW, Gaddy D, Tariq S, Aitken ME. Development of a longitudinal injury prevention curriculum for undergraduate medical students. Inj Prev. 2010 Aug;16(4):267-71. 

*To find additional publications by this author, please visit Pubmed Central, a National Institutes of Health-operated site for electronic distribution of life sciences research reports.

NIH, National Center for Research Resources; Arkansas Center for Clinical and Translational Research; Grant Number UL1RR029884 (Lowery PI); Director, Child Health Research Component.

NIH, Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development; Evaluating a Web-based Child Passenger Safety Program:  Safety in Seconds v2.0. Grant Number R01HD069221(Gielen, PI).

Arkansas Children’s Hospital; Arkansas Injury Prevention Center; Injury prevention education and outreach in Arkansas; Role: PI.         

Arkansas Department of Health; Infant/Child Death Review Program; Development and implementation of child death review in Arkansas
Building Consensus for Safer Teen Driving, Statewide program; Improve awareness of teen driving safety strategies in high risk areas of Arkansas; Role: PI.   

Arkansas Department of Health. Statewide injury Prevention Program- Technical assistance and training for injury control strategies through AR Trauma System; Role: PI. 

Arkansas Highway Department.  Highway safety Section-Child Passenger Protection Education; Role: PI. 

Arkansas Children’s Hospital; Children’s Health Services Research Group; (Robbins PI, Aitken Co-I).