Health Care Spending Up for Child Survivors of Firearm Injuries

Survivors and family members of survivors have increased mental health care use

By Elana Gotkine HealthDay Reporter

MONDAY, Nov. 6, 2023 (HealthDay News) — Child and adolescent survivors of firearm injuries have increased health care spending, and they and their family members have increased mental health care use, according to a study published in the November issue of Health Affairs.

Zirui Song, M.D., Ph.D., from Harvard University and Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, and colleagues used 2007 to 2021 commercial health insurance claims data to examine the clinical and economic impact of firearm injuries in children and adolescents. A total of 2,052 child and adolescent survivors and 9,983 matched controls without firearm injuries were studied, as well as 6,209 family members of survivors versus 29,877 matched controls, and 265 family members of decedents versus 1,263 matched controls.

The researchers found that relative to controls, child and adolescent survivors experienced a 117, 68, and 144 percent increase in pain disorders, psychiatric disorders, and substance use disorders, respectively, through one year after firearm injury. Health care spending increased 17.1-fold for survivors, by an average of $34,884, with 95 percent paid by insurers or employers. A 30 to 31 percent increase in psychiatric disorders was seen among parents of survivors; mothers had 75 percent more mental health visits, and mothers and siblings had a 5 to 14 percent reduction in routine medical care. Substantially larger 2.3- to 5.3-fold increases in psychiatric disorders were experienced by family members of decedents, and patients had at least 15.3-fold more mental health visits.

“These substantial, indirect consequences of firearm injuries highlight their profound ripple effects through families and society,” the authors write.