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| Medical student Keegan Musaalo presents research on the financial impact of firearm-related injuries. |
Keegan Musaalo, a third-year medical student at the Whiddon College of Medicine, presented research earlier this month at the American Association for the Surgery of Trauma (AAST) annual meeting in Boston.
The presentation, titled “The Financial Impact of Firearm-Related Injuries: A One-Year Single-Institution Cost Analysis,” examined the financial impact of firearm-related injuries on both patients and the hospital system.
“None of us needs to read any of the current literature to understand that victims of gun violence suffer severe physical, mental and emotional wounds,” Musaalo said. “But I had never considered the financial burden they might bear after being treated for such an injury.”
Musaalo said individuals most at risk of sustaining firearm-related injuries are often negatively affected by several social determinants of health, including low socioeconomic status. “Likewise, the financial burden of healthcare has an incredible socioeconomic impact, especially on victims who are uninsured, contributing to a vicious cycle,” he said. “I was motivated to work on this project to highlight the reality and unfairness of this cycle and advocate for these patients and for additional support for level 1 trauma centers that also bear significant financial burden in saving lives every day.”
Musaalo expressed his gratitude to USA Health trauma surgeons Jon Simmons, M.D., and Ashley Williams Hogue, M.D., for their mentorship and to presentation co-author Carlysle Salter, a fellow third-year medical student at the Whiddon College of Medicine.
The AAST is the premier academic trauma surgery organization in the United States and has approximately 2,100 members from 130 countries. The group's annual meeting attracts about 750 physicians and scientists whose primary interest lies in the investigation and the treatment of various forms of trauma and the application of surgical critical care.
