Date of Award

2018

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Health Administration

College

College of Health Professions

First Advisor

Annie N. Simpson

Second Advisor

Kit N. Simpson

Third Advisor

Lois V. Greene

Abstract

Gun violence is a significant problem across the United States, and the economic impact of gun violence in South Carolina is not well understood. There has been a historical policy- driven trend to limit research on gun violence. Therefore, few empirical studies have been done to examine this problem. In order to determine the impact of gun violence on the healthcare utilization and cost resulting from gunshot wounds and injuries, ICD codes for state-level billing data were used to enable an estimation of county specific cost associated with gun violence. Federal laws exist on background check requirements although, state laws vary widely. South Carolina has one of the highest rates of gun violence death rates in the United States. Descriptive statistics were used to evaluate the emergency department and inpatient visits, hospital inpatient length of stay, outpatient surgeries, and overall healthcare cost (using payments). Furthermore, the data were examined to estimate the healthcare impact of gun violence by race, age group, insurance type, and county (overall and rural vs. urban). The financial cost of caring for the victims of gun violence may not be enormous it is a burden felt most by the hospitals (due to the large numbers of uninsured) and public insurers. The most significant number of gun related burden falls on the under 40 age group, and a large portion under 19. There is little qualitative evidence of the psychological impact of gun violence on families. Future research should examine the impact of gun violence on society and families.

Rights

All rights reserved. Copyright is held by the author.

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