Research examines effects on firearm injury survivors, families

Survivors of firearm injuries had a 51 percent increase in psychiatric disorders, an 85 percent increase in substance use disorders, and showed a 40 percent jump in pain diagnoses.
Additionally, medical spending rose by $2,495 per person per month among survivors relative to control participants in the first year. Family members of the injured party also experienced a 12 percent increase in psychiatric disorders.
Zirui Song, MD, Ph.D, associate professor of health care policy and medicine at Harvard Medical School and Massachusetts General Hospital, led the study.
He was motivated to research the topic to better understand what happens to people who are injured but survive—given that there are twice as many people who live after being shot....