Posted on Jul 21, 2022
American gun violence has immense costs beyond the death toll, new studies find
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https://www.npr.org/2022/07/21/ [login to see] /american-gun-violence-has-immense-costs-beyond-the-death-toll-new-studies-find
On one level, it's almost impossible to put a dollar figure on lives shattered by gun violence or to try to measure the pain of having a loved one killed or seriously injured.
But researchers of two new studies using federal health care and hospital data underscore that the repercussions from firearm deaths and injuries are deeper, wider and far costlier than previously known.
In a new study published in the Annals of Internal Medicine, Dr. Zirui Song and colleagues found a four-fold increase in health care spending as a direct result of a non-fatal firearm injury.
Dr. Song, an Associate Professor of Health Care Policy and Medicine at Harvard Medical School, also charts a substantial increase in other health disorders that undermine a person's health and well-being.
"In the first year after a non-fatal firearm injury, survivors experienced a 40% increase in physical pain or other forms of pain syndromes; a 50% increase in psychiatric disorders; and an 85% increase in substance use disorders," Dr. Song says, while on break from his rounds at Massachusetts General Hospital, where he practices internal medicine. He adds more research is needed as to exactly why those addiction numbers and other disorders go up so dramatically.
On one level, it's almost impossible to put a dollar figure on lives shattered by gun violence or to try to measure the pain of having a loved one killed or seriously injured.
But researchers of two new studies using federal health care and hospital data underscore that the repercussions from firearm deaths and injuries are deeper, wider and far costlier than previously known.
In a new study published in the Annals of Internal Medicine, Dr. Zirui Song and colleagues found a four-fold increase in health care spending as a direct result of a non-fatal firearm injury.
Dr. Song, an Associate Professor of Health Care Policy and Medicine at Harvard Medical School, also charts a substantial increase in other health disorders that undermine a person's health and well-being.
"In the first year after a non-fatal firearm injury, survivors experienced a 40% increase in physical pain or other forms of pain syndromes; a 50% increase in psychiatric disorders; and an 85% increase in substance use disorders," Dr. Song says, while on break from his rounds at Massachusetts General Hospital, where he practices internal medicine. He adds more research is needed as to exactly why those addiction numbers and other disorders go up so dramatically.
American gun violence has immense costs beyond the death toll, new studies find
Posted from npr.org
Firearms and Guns
Violence
Economics
Medical
Health
Posted 2 y ago
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Well then! All the more reason to have legal gun owners out there to protect against gun violence and mass shooting. Like just what happened in Illinois. But nobody wants to cover, where the gun being used as tool for saving lives and upholding justice is the answer to ending all this madness of harming others. Start to blame the real reason for most of this unwarranted violence, Pharma!
Giving school age children psychotropic drugs to zombie out overactive kids.
It is really not that hard too see or understand.
Giving school age children psychotropic drugs to zombie out overactive kids.
It is really not that hard too see or understand.
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MSG Roy Cheever
Yes it has. But I know or am at least hoping, The Lord has a special place for those who preserver. Seriously!?!
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PO1 William "Chip" Nagel
..."This epidemic is costing our nation $557 billion annually," says Sarah Burd-Sharps, research director at the gun control advocacy group. "Looking at the economic consequence offers a wider lens for understanding just how extensive — and expensive — this crisis is."
The $557 billion figure seems astonishing. But the group says it looks at myriad direct costs associated with gun violence. Researcher Burd-Sharps notes the figures include immediate costs of a shooting, such as the police response, investigations and ambulance services all the way to the long-term health care costs. The analysis also includes estimates for a victims' lost earnings, costs incurred by the criminal justice system, the price of mental health care and more.
"Whenever you're costing these kind of injuries, you have to take into consideration that quality of life amount, which is admittedly quite large," she says.
In fact, Burd-Sharps believes the true annual figure is even higher than the estimate in the report that society loses some $1.34 billion every day for pain and suffering related to all victims of gun violence.
"This is honestly a very conservative estimate," she says. "It covers directly measurable costs. It doesn't cover things like the trauma of children who don't want to return their school. The impact on businesses or on property, you know, values and taxes. It doesn't cover any of those wider reverberations."
Burd-Sharps is scheduled to testify before two Congressional committees this week on the economic impact of gun violence.
She says she'll tell lawmakers the group is grateful for their recent federal actions on guns, which included incentives for states to pass "red flag'' laws, which temporarily remove a weapon from a person deemed dangerous, and expanded background checks for those between of the ages of 18 and 21 who wish to buy a gun.
But Burd-Sharps says she'll also tell the Congress members that "much more is needed to fight this epidemic."
..."This epidemic is costing our nation $557 billion annually," says Sarah Burd-Sharps, research director at the gun control advocacy group. "Looking at the economic consequence offers a wider lens for understanding just how extensive — and expensive — this crisis is."
The $557 billion figure seems astonishing. But the group says it looks at myriad direct costs associated with gun violence. Researcher Burd-Sharps notes the figures include immediate costs of a shooting, such as the police response, investigations and ambulance services all the way to the long-term health care costs. The analysis also includes estimates for a victims' lost earnings, costs incurred by the criminal justice system, the price of mental health care and more.
"Whenever you're costing these kind of injuries, you have to take into consideration that quality of life amount, which is admittedly quite large," she says.
In fact, Burd-Sharps believes the true annual figure is even higher than the estimate in the report that society loses some $1.34 billion every day for pain and suffering related to all victims of gun violence.
"This is honestly a very conservative estimate," she says. "It covers directly measurable costs. It doesn't cover things like the trauma of children who don't want to return their school. The impact on businesses or on property, you know, values and taxes. It doesn't cover any of those wider reverberations."
Burd-Sharps is scheduled to testify before two Congressional committees this week on the economic impact of gun violence.
She says she'll tell lawmakers the group is grateful for their recent federal actions on guns, which included incentives for states to pass "red flag'' laws, which temporarily remove a weapon from a person deemed dangerous, and expanded background checks for those between of the ages of 18 and 21 who wish to buy a gun.
But Burd-Sharps says she'll also tell the Congress members that "much more is needed to fight this epidemic."
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