Gunshot Victims Fill ERs Every 30 Minutes in the U.S. 

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Gunshot Victims Fill ERs Every 30 Minutes in the U.S. 
Gunshot Victims Fill ERs Every 30 Minutes in the U.S. 

United States: Doctors in U.S. emergency rooms admit one patient with gunshot wounds each half-hour, according to recent scientific research. 

Health research by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) shows that firearm injuries display regular seasonal trends that determine specific times when gun violence occurs. 

An emergency department research team headed by Dr. Adam Rowh identified that fire incidents leading to patient visits occurred most frequently in evening hours, weekend days, and summer months and holiday periods at the National Center for Injury Prevention and Control. 

When and Where Gun Injuries Peak 

The research looked at gun-related Emergency Room patient visits during the time span from January 2018 through August 2023 in nine US states alongside the District of Columbia. Nine US locations participated in the research including Florida, Georgia, New Mexico, North Carolina, Oregon, Utah, Virginia, Washington, and West Virginia. 

During the five-year period 93,000 patients injured by firearms visited ER settings at a frequency of 74 cases per 100,000 visits with one injury occurring every thirty minutes. 

Gunshot Victims Fill ERs Every 30 Minutes in the U.S. 
Gunshot Victims Fill ERs Every 30 Minutes in the U.S. 

Nights, Weekends, and Holidays See the Most Violence 

During the examination period, gun injury ER visits increased progressively throughout the afternoon hours until they reached their maximum average at 2:30 a.m. and 3:00 a.m. 

Research showed that Friday, Saturday, and Sunday had the heaviest daily average rates according to their findings. Gun-related emergency room visits reached their peak on both New Year’s Eve and during the month of July. 

Independence Day, Memorial Day, and Halloween appeared among the holidays that resulted in numerous ER-treated gun injuries. 

A Roadmap for Prevention and Preparedness 

Researchers declared the study represented the biggest analysis to date examining how firearm injuries relate to different daily, weekly, and yearly periods. 

“These findings support and expand on previous research demonstrating differences in firearm injury incidence according to time of day, day of the week, holiday status, and time of year,” researchers wrote. 

The research discovery enables hospitals to organize additional emergency room personnel at times when gun violence is forecasted to peak, according to researchers. 

According to the team, police and community workers may use this data to anticipate periods when shootings become more probable. 

Additional studies need to conduct research on why particular time slots seem associated with gun violence, according to the authors. 

“Understanding the factors contributing to the temporal patterns of firearm injury presents a valuable opportunity for future prevention efforts, and implementation of policies, programs, and practices grounded in the best available evidence can bolster states’ and communities’ prevention efforts,” researchers wrote.