Mental Health Followups Needed For Gun Victims Who Suffer For Years Even When Injuries Are Small, Study Says
In some of the first research into longterm effects of gun violence, researchers at the University of Pennsylvania say not enough is being done to help tens of thousands of patients who can suffer for years from PTSD and other mental health problems following a shooting. Related news is also on: the effects of fatal police shootings and the lives of mass shooters.
The Washington Post:
Shooting Victims Have Increased Risk Of Mental Harm Long After Physical Injuries Have Healed, Study Finds
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 authors point out that treatment for gun injuries may need to change: 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. (Wan, 11/20)
MPR:
A Cry For Help Summoned The Police — And Ended In His Death
About 1 in 5 fatal police shootings across the country last year involved a person with mental illness, according to a Washington Post database of police shootings. So far this year, numbers are on track for the same. In Minnesota, out of the 47 people shot and killed by police over roughly the past five years, at least 18 had mental illness. (Roth, 11/21)
The Associated Press:
Minnesota Violence Project Aims To Understand Mass Shootings
Minnesota researchers have created a new database that seeks to help understand circumstances that contribute to mass shootings in the United States. The nonpartisan Violence Project’s database went online Tuesday, Minnesota Public Radio News reported. The project’s researchers chronicled traits related to 171 people who committed mass shootings, which are defined as shooting and killing four or more people in a public space. (11/20)
