Kristina B. Metzger, PhD, MPH

Kristi leads the development of the NJ-SHO Center for Integrated Data, including establishing traffic safety and injury metrics for the NJ-SHO Data Dashboard and creating a website that is useful in helping to reduce transportation-related injuries and deaths in New Jersey. She is an epidemiologist with over 20 years of experience in analyses of public health data with a focus on large administrative datasets. Kristi lives in Austin, Texas, where she recently helped her teenage twins earn their driver’s licenses. 

Highlighted Work

Developing A New Traffic Safety Resource

In this Research In Action blog post, Kristi shares how the NJ-SHO Center for Integrated Data is working to advance traffic safety and transportation equity in New Jersey through innovative data linkage and data sharing. 

Real-World Crash Circumstances Among Newly Licensed Adolescent Drivers With and Without Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder 

In a sample of Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia patients residing in New Jersey, adolescents with ADHD had 30 to 40% higher crash rates than their peers without ADHD. They were also 9% more likely to be at fault for their crashes and 15% more likely to be inattentive. 

Facilitating Research on Racial and Ethnic Disparities and Inequities in Transportation: Application and Evaluation of the Bayesian Improved Surname Geocoding (BISG) Algorithm

Applying the BISG algorithm to traffic safety analyses may reduce potential biases commonly found in data collection and analysis related to the use of race and/ethnicity data. Its use can ultimately promote more effective and equitable interventions and policies to improve road safety for all. 

Vehicle Safety Characteristics in Vulnerable Driver Populations

Teens, older adults (age 65 and older), and those from low-income neighborhoods are more likely to be driving vehicles that are less safe (older models without electronic stability control and other safety features), putting them at greater risk of injury and death in the event of a crash. Ensuring these drivers are in the safest vehicles they can afford is a promising approach to reducing crash injuries and fatalities.