Gun violence and crime generate costs not only for the public safety sector, but also for the health sector; This, in turn, can provide data that will serve as a basis for refining local security policies.
Such an interdisciplinary approach is recommended by the World Health Organization (WHO) so that resources are allocated rationally in both areas, thereby helping to prevent and contain injuries and deaths.
Published this month, a study by the Instituto sou da Paz, based on data collected from the Ministry of Health’s hospital information system, seeks to measure these costs.
Between 2014 and 2024, approximately 556 million reais were spent on hospitalizations in the SUS to treat injuries caused by firearms. In 2024 alone, there was R$42.3 million, with an average cost of R$2,680 per hospitalization, or 159% more than federal health spending per capita (R$1,033).
Note that the amounts must be much higher, because the study does not measure state and municipal expenditures, nor does it include outpatient care, physical rehabilitation or psychological support after discharge.
The profile of hospitalized victims – men (89%), blacks (82%) and more than half between 15 and 29 years old – reflects the characteristics of those who are regularly subjected to armed violence.
There are also regional disparities: the North and Northeast have hospitalization rates more than twice those of other regions, with the Northeast accounting for 43% of cases.
In addition, access to health care itself is impacted. In territories subject to police operations, health units must be closed frequently: in Rio de Janeiro, until September of this year alone, armed violence led to more than 700 suspensions of services in this service.
The WHO guidance is based on the idea that gun attacks should be subject to an epidemiological approach, with continuous data monitoring, for the development of security and health strategies and policies based on the endemic situation, not only in cities but in specific urban areas.
The training of doctors and health professionals must also integrate this factor, with risk identification protocols that can be applied outside the SUS, such as primary care units and family health teams.
Complex problems require networked actions among organizations and agencies, and measuring costs is a first step in this task.
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