On this edition of Your Call, we speak with two doctors who treat shooting victims and study the epidemic of gun violence in the US.
Dr. Megan Ranney, dean of public health at Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island, says the damage from an AR-15's bullet is almost indescribable. It creates gaping holes. It liquefies organs. It is rarely survivable. In the ER, she mostly sees handgun injuries from suicides, domestic violence, and community violence. "Regardless of the gun used, the way a bullet rips through a body is similar to the way gun violence tears apart a community.”
Dr. Bindi J. Naik-Mathuria, chief of pediatric surgery at the University of Texas Medical Branch, also treats gun violence victims. For 200 days, she thought her five-year-old patient might die after he was struck by a stray bullet from a gunfight outside of his apartment. He made an incredible recovery. Dr. Naik-Mathuria told the Houston Chronicle that on some days, he is the reason she goes to work.
In 2021, Dr. Naik-Mathuria received a grant from the CDC to study the epidemiology of firearm injuries in Harris County, Texas. She says gun violence is a public health problem that will benefit from a public health approach and solution.
Guests:
Dr. Megan Ranney, deputy dean in the School of Public Health at Brown University, co-founder and strategic advisor to the American Foundation for Firearm Injury Reduction in Medicine at the Aspen Institute, director of the Brown-Lifespan Center for Digital Health, professor of behavioral and social sciences and health services, policy and practice and Emergency Medicine
Dr. Bindi Naik-Mathuria, triple-board-certified division chief of pediatric surgery in the department of surgery at the University of Texas Medical Branch, public health researcher, and fellow at Rice University's Baker Institute for Public Policy in the Firearm Injury Prevention and Safety program
Web Resources:
WBUR: Lessons I've learned on the frontlines of the gun violence epidemic
New York Times: Can New Gun Violence Research Find a Path Around the Political Stalemate?
Houston Chronicle: With new CDC grant, Houston trauma surgeon to study gun violence like it's a disease
CBS News: ER doctor on the aftermath of gun violence – on the body, and the community
