According to the Indiana State Department of Health, the number of people in Indiana wounded by gunshot in 2018 totaled to 128. That number breaks down to:
- 67 homicides
- 58 suicides
- 2 accidental
- 2 undetermined
The ISDH did not have the number of gunshot victims who had sustained an injury and been treated in emergency care readily available.
Radiologist, Dr. Corbin Pomeranz, works at the Department of Radiology at the Sidney Kimmel Medical College at Thomas Jefferson University in Philadelphia. He says the fact that more detailed numbers on gunshot wounds aren’t readily available is part of the reason victims of gun violence do not always receive enough care.
He just completed a preliminary study examining the long-term health effects of sustaining a gunshot wound. He says gun violence is a national health emergency.
“That was really a big reason for the study, to put a spotlight on not just gun violence, but long-term health outcomes” Pomeranz says.
He says most research on treatment for gun violence focuses on immediate care. He hopes his work will encourage hospitals to start keeping data on gun violence victims, in order to flag people who may likely need follow-up treatments.
The initial study was small, examining patients with a history of prior gunshot wounds at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital who were readmitted or had follow-up treatment between January and April of last year.
During the study, 110 patients with a history of gunshot wounds returned to the hospital for follow-ups. A majority of those were men averaging around 50-years-old.
People who had been shot in the chest or abdomen were most likely to be readmitted to the hospital.
Now, Pomeranz is conducting a larger study, looking at more factors, like socioeconomic status.
