The Washington Post (11/20, Wan) reports, “Years after being shot, a large proportion of gun victims continue to suffer from increased unemployment, alcohol and drug abuse, and post-traumatic stress disorder, a new study shows, and the effects persist even when the injuries were minor.” The study authors acknowledge “that treatment for gun injuries may need to change,” as “currently, patients may be discharged quickly from the hospital, often with no checks on their mental health or follow-up care. And they say growing evidence suggests that gunshot trauma is harder to recover from than other types of injuries.” The report was published Wednesday in the journal JAMA Surgery.
HealthDay (11/20, Mozes) reports, “About 70,000 Americans survive gun shootings every year, but little research has looked at the long-term aftereffects, the study team said.” For this study, they “conducted phone interviews with 183 patients who were shot between 2008 and 2017 and treated at an urban, level 1 trauma center.”
Among the news outlets covering this story are Newsweek (11/20, Gander) and Healio (11/20, Gramigna).
Related Links:
— “Shooting victims have increased risk of mental harm long after physical injuries have healed, study finds, “William Wan, The Washington Post, November 20, 2019