State-Level Estimates of Nonfatal Firearm Injury Hospitalizations, 2000–2021

<b>Objectives.</b> To create a comprehensive, publicly available data set of state-level nonfatal firearm injury inpatient hospitalizations (NFIIHs) in the United States from 2000 to 2021. <b>Methods.</b> We used Bayesian modeling to impute missing NFIIH rates for 334 state-year observations and correct for incomplete injury mechanism coding in 766 observations. <b>Results.</b> NFIIH rates increased nationally, with the largest rise between 2019 and 2020, up by one third to reach 1.31 (95% credibility interval [CrI] = 1.27, 1.35) per 10 000 population. State prevalences ranged from 0.18 (95% CrI = 0.14, 0.22) in Hawaii to 2.18 (2.04, 2.33) in Louisiana. South Central states (Mississippi, Arkansas, Missouri) had the largest increases. Twelve states-predominantly in the Northeast and West-experienced decreases. NFIIH rates correlated more strongly with firearm homicide rates (correlation = 0.86) than other intents (correlations < 0.28). Nationwide, there were 2.4 NFIIHs for every firearm homicide, but this ratio varied more than fourfold across states. <b>Conclusions.</b> NFIIH rates varied substantially across and within states. Despite strong correlation, many states diverged from the national NFIIH to firearm homicide ratio. <b>Public Health Implications.</b> Firearm deaths systematically underrepresent serious firearm injuries in some states. This new data set can inform how policies affect serious firearm injuries and injury lethality. (<i>Am J Public Health</i>. 2025;115(7):1106-1114. https://doi.org/10.2105/AJPH.2025.308069).

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Journal
American Journal of Public Health
Published
2025-05-15
DOI
https://doi.org/10.2105/ajph.2025.308069
Primary Topic
Gun Ownership and Violence Research
Type
article
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article

State-Level Estimates of Nonfatal Firearm Injury Hospitalizations, 2000–2021

Terry L. Schell, Andrew R. Morral, Nancy Nicosia, Rosanna Smart et al.
American Journal of Public Health
Gun Ownership and Violence Research
article

State-Level Estimates of Nonfatal Firearm Injury Hospitalizations, 2000–2021

Terry L. Schell, Andrew R. Morral, Nancy Nicosia, Rosanna Smart, James Peter Murphy
article en

Abstract

<b>Objectives.</b> To create a comprehensive, publicly available data set of state-level nonfatal firearm injury inpatient hospitalizations (NFIIHs) in the United States from 2000 to 2021. <b>Methods.</b> We used Bayesian modeling to impute missing NFIIH rates for 334 state-year observations and correct for incomplete injury mechanism coding in 766 observations. <b>Results.</b> NFIIH rates increased nationally, with the largest rise between 2019 and 2020, up by one third to reach 1.31 (95% credibility interval [CrI] = 1.27, 1.35) per 10 000 population. State prevalences ranged from 0.18 (95% CrI = 0.14, 0.22) in Hawaii to 2.18 (2.04, 2.33) in Louisiana. South Central states (Mississippi, Arkansas, Missouri) had the largest increases. Twelve states-predominantly in the Northeast and West-experienced decreases. NFIIH rates correlated more strongly with firearm homicide rates (correlation = 0.86) than other intents (correlations < 0.28). Nationwide, there were 2.4 NFIIHs for every firearm homicide, but this ratio varied more than fourfold across states. <b>Conclusions.</b> NFIIH rates varied substantially across and within states. Despite strong correlation, many states diverged from the national NFIIH to firearm homicide ratio. <b>Public Health Implications.</b> Firearm deaths systematically underrepresent serious firearm injuries in some states. This new data set can inform how policies affect serious firearm injuries and injury lethality. (<i>Am J Public Health</i>. 2025;115(7):1106-1114. https://doi.org/10.2105/AJPH.2025.308069).

American Journal of Public HealthVol. 115(7)
RAND Corporation (US)
Good health and well-being
Openalex Percentile: Top 87%
Gun Ownership and Violence Research
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State-Level Estimates of Nonfatal Firearm Injury Hospitalizations, 2000–2021 — Terry L. Schell, Andrew R. Morral, et al. · American Journal of Public Health (2025) | TGRS Research Map | TGRS