The Preparedness, Injury, and Emergency Response Collaborative (PIER-C) was established in response to the significant injury risks faced by Floridians as a result of both natural and manmade disasters. These events, including hurricanes, floods, mass shootings, and transportation-related injuries and deaths, can have substantial and lasting impacts on individuals, families, and communities.

PIER-C serves as a comprehensive research, training, and practice collaborative that brings together leading academic researchers from the University of South Florida (USF), USF Health, Tampa General Hospital (TGH), and the University of Central Florida (UCF). Through this collaborative approach, PIER-C seeks to address the complex challenges surrounding disaster preparedness, injury prevention, and emergency response.

Through research, practice, and teaching, PIER-C focuses on disasters and related injuries in communities, with particular attention to populations and groups who may face higher risks. Areas of focus include violence toward and injuries among healthcare and emergency response personnel, PTSD, injuries among people with disabilities, injuries among children and pregnant women, suicide and mental health issues among marginalized groups, and injuries among older adults.

PIER-C also incorporates an overarching social marketing initiative to help communicate and share research findings more effectively. Through its work across research, practice, training, teaching, and communication, the collaborative aims to develop innovative strategies to mitigate injury risks and help decrease the increasing trajectory of injuries and deaths associated with disasters and emergencies.