Aberdeen Centre for Trauma Research (ACTR)

Aberdeen was one of the first places in the UK to provide specialist care for trauma victims and their families with the establishment of the Aberdeen Traumatic Stress Clinic by Professor David A Alexander following the Piper Alpha oil platform disaster in 1988.

In March 1999, the Aberdeen Centre for Trauma Research (ACTR) was established jointly by the former Grampian Primary Care NHS Trust and the University of Aberdeen on the Royal Cornhill Hospital site. Mr Terry Waite CBE formally opened the Centre on 17th May, 2000. Since its inception, the Centre has attracted considerable interest from professional and lay agencies and the media by virtue of its international reputation through the conduct of high quality research, clinical practice, and teaching in the field of trauma.

In April 2006, the ACTR moved from the University of Aberdeen to Robert Gordon University under the aegis of the Faculty of Health and Social Care. Following the launch of the three Research Institutes in 2009, the ACTR is one of the two research centres which currently operates in affiliation with the Institute for Health & Welfare Research (IHWR).

Aims

The ACTR aims to:

• conduct high quality research into various aspects of trauma
• support evidence-based clinical practice
• provide training courses on a number of trauma-related topics including disaster response management, critical incident and emergency response management, and psychological first aid
• provide consultancy