Research Overview

Dr. Bowman is an Assistant Professor with appointments in the UAMS College of Medicine's Department of Pediatrics and the UAMS College of Public Health's Departments of Epidemiology and Health Policy and Management. Dr. Bowman specializes in the application of health services research methods to injury prevention and trauma systems research. His research interests include 1) identifying hospital organizational characteristics associated with optimal trauma outcomes, 2) developing and evaluating effective prevention interventions to reduce the unintentional and intentional injury fatalities and hospitalizations, 3) eliminating racial and ethnic disparities in acute trauma care outcomes by identifying variability of care and opportunities for quality improvement, and 4) improving trauma care in rural communities through systems research and evaluation. Dr. Bowman has studied hospital ownership and its relationship with pediatric spleen injury management practices, racial and ethnic disparities in traumatic brain injury outcomes, and the impact of rural hospital trauma designation on outcomes in persons with serious injuries.

Key Publications*

Bowman SM, Zimmerman FJ, Christakis DA, Sharar SR, Martin DP. Hospital characteristics associated with the management of pediatric splenic injuries. JAMA. 2005;294:2611-2617.

Bowman SM, Martin DP, Sharar SR, Zimmerman FJ. Racial disparities in outcomes of persons with moderate to severe traumatic brain injury. Med Care 2007;45:686-690.

Bowman SM, Zimmerman FJ, Christakis DA, Sharar SR. The role of hospital profit status in pediatric spleen injury management. Med Care 2008;46(3):331-338.

Bowman SM, Sharar SR, Quan L. Impact of a statewide quality improvement initiative to improve the management of pediatric splenic injuries in Washington State. Journal of Trauma - in press, 2007.

Aitken ME, Bowman SM, Card-Higginson P, Carson JE, Lin TM, Thompson JW, Zhao Y. Arkansas safety restraint use linked to hospital use and charges. J Ark Med Soc. 2007;104(7):161-164.

Bowman SM, Zimmerman FJ, Sharar SR, Baker MW, Martin DP. Hospital characteristics associated with rural trauma outcomes. Journal of Rural Health, in press, 2007.

Bowman SM, Bird TM, Aitken ME, Tilford JM. Trends in hospitalizations associated with pediatric traumatic brain injuries. Pediatrics, in press, 2007.

Research Support

Arkansas Bioscience Institute
Children's University Medical Group