Resources For Those Affected By Gun Violence
From the Show: UK HealthCast
Summary:
Air Date: 6/28/22
Duration: 10 Minutes
Amy Burnett, a Nurse Practitioner in Adolescent Medicine, joins us to discuss the psychological effects that gun violence has on people and what resources they can use within their community to find help.
Transcription:
Amy Burnett, DNP, APRN: Another informational resource from UK Healthcare. This is UK HealthCast, featuring conversations with our physicians and other healthcare providers.
Caitlin Whyte: Welcome to UK HealthCast from the university of Kentucky Healthcare. I'm your host, Caitlin Whyte. Unfortunately, we continue to see gun violence in the media on a national and local level. Being a victim of gun violence often has lifetime implications, not only on their physical wellbeing, but also on their mental wellbeing. To tell us more about the resources available in our area is Dr. Amy Burnett, a doctor of nursing practice and a nurse practitioner in adolescent medicine. Doctor, to start off our conversation today, can you describe the long-term mental impacts victims of gun violence experience?
Amy Burnett, DNP, APRN: Sure. So gun violence rates currently are at an all-time high. This is a problem that disproportionately affects our youth. Sadly, death by firearm has recently become the leading cause of death in children and teens in the US. Gun violence, it not only affects victims, but also families and the entire community. So there are a lot of long-term effects for everyone involved, for the victims.
You know, after the initial trauma, some disability may occur from the actual gunshot wound, but very significant psychological effects after dealing with such a major trauma. So these victims, we see a lot of anxiety, we see depression, we see PTSD symptoms. Especially in kids and adolescents, these symptoms can manifest differently than they do in adults. And if not treated early, they can have lifelong mental health implications, but also, you know, the families that deal with the gun violence, they experience a lot of grief, anxiety, depression, PTSD of their own that they have to deal with. And in communities, we're seeing a lot of kids living in these neighborhoods where there are high rates of gun violence, where they hear gunshots on a regular basis. They hear about people they know being shot. So those kids are kind of growing up in this constant state of fear and high stress. And developmentally, we need stability and safety. So definitely whole communities are impacted by gun violence in a negative way.
Caitlin Whyte: So just how can family and friends support those who have experienced gun violence?
Amy Burnett, DNP, APRN: These victims are going to need a lot of support from everyone in their lives. Checking in with them on a regular basis is extremely important, letting them know that, yes, the event is over, but we understand that long-term, it's never going to be over for you most likely. Having open conversations with them. You know, asking them on a regular basis, how are they doing physically, how are they doing mentally and not leaving out the mental component is very important.
There's a lot of community resources here locally. I feel like the past couple years, they've really tried to develop a lot of community resources for gunshot victims, for their families. And I think taking advantage of those community resources is really important and kind of creating your own support groups out of that. And then, I think what's really important is seeking professional care when needed.
Caitlin Whyte: You know, being that support, at what point should those family and friends encourage the victim to seek more professional help, you know, more than what they are able to offer?
Amy Burnett, DNP, APRN: So again, being a victim of gun violence is extremely traumatic. So it's very normal to have a lot of mood-related issues and long-term effects after going through something this intense. In certain communities and cultures, there's a very negative stigma about reaching out, reaching out for mental health services, which is unfortunate. It's a very normal response to a trauma. So it's extremely important to seek out these services early, to have the best long-term outcomes.
So, you know, when we think about kids and adolescents, when to seek care, kids that appear to have a depressed mood. So mood is down. They are withdrawing. They're not interacting with family and friends like they used to. They have loss of interest in activities that they used to enjoy. They have lost motivation. A lot of them will exhibit high anxiety and PTSD symptoms like nightmares, avoiding situations, people, places. They're always on edge. You will see school-related issues in these kids. They don't want to go to school. And then if they're going to school, sometimes they'll have a significant drop in grades. Behavior issues, kids will often act out when they're experiencing anxiety or depression, because they don't know how to effectively communicate that. So they'll start getting into trouble when they didn't before. Sleep issues, so sleeping too much or sleeping too little can be a red flag. So they have trouble falling asleep, have trouble staying asleep or they're sleeping excessively. Also, substance use. We see a lot of kids that will self-medicate when they have anxiety and depression issues. They will try to solve that themselves by using substances, always a concern and always a reason to seek care.
Caitlin Whyte: So tell us what mental health services does Kentucky Children's Hospital offer to support victims of gun violence. And what ages are those services available to?
Amy Burnett, DNP, APRN: The Kentucky Children's Hospital has been working very hard, not only to prevent gun violence, but to provide resources for support and treatment to victims. This is something that definitely can be discussed with the child's medical provider in routine visits, and that, you know, their regular medical provider can help them find resources.
At UK, we're lucky that we have a specific adolescent medicine clinic. The focus of adolescent medicine are youth ages 10 to 25. This clinic is very good with dealing with kids in high-risk situations. It's a comprehensive primary care clinic. So they come for all their regular needs, but we do regular screening on all patients for mental health concerns. If we notice a mental health concern, then we can connect those patients with mental health services within UK and outside of UK and just help them find resources. So UK does have a lot of resources available at this time.
Caitlin Whyte: Well, doctor, this is a difficult subject to cover, but is there anything else that you would like to address that we haven't touched on already?
Amy Burnett, DNP, APRN: It is a very hard topic. It's a very sad thing to deal with on a regular basis. And unfortunately, we as medical providers are seeing this, seeing the results of gun violence on a regular basis. We just want our kids and our communities to be healthy and happy and safe. If I could say anything, it's just reach out to your medical providers when you have any concerns for safety in these kids. And we're happy to hook you up with any resources and services that we can.
Caitlin Whyte: Well, thank you so much for the work that you're doing in this field and for helping victims get through these horrific events. For more information, you can call the Kentucky Children's Hospital Adolescent Medicine Clinic at 859-323-5643. And that wraps up another episode of UK HealthCast with the University of Kentucky Healthcare. Please remember to subscribe, rate and review this podcast and all of the other University of Kentucky Healthcare podcasts. I'm Caitlin Whyte. Stay well.
Amy Burnett, DNP, APRN: Another informational resource from UK Healthcare. This is UK HealthCast, featuring conversations with our physicians and other healthcare providers.
Caitlin Whyte: Welcome to UK HealthCast from the university of Kentucky Healthcare. I'm your host, Caitlin Whyte. Unfortunately, we continue to see gun violence in the media on a national and local level. Being a victim of gun violence often has lifetime implications, not only on their physical wellbeing, but also on their mental wellbeing. To tell us more about the resources available in our area is Dr. Amy Burnett, a doctor of nursing practice and a nurse practitioner in adolescent medicine. Doctor, to start off our conversation today, can you describe the long-term mental impacts victims of gun violence experience?
Amy Burnett, DNP, APRN: Sure. So gun violence rates currently are at an all-time high. This is a problem that disproportionately affects our youth. Sadly, death by firearm has recently become the leading cause of death in children and teens in the US. Gun violence, it not only affects victims, but also families and the entire community. So there are a lot of long-term effects for everyone involved, for the victims.
You know, after the initial trauma, some disability may occur from the actual gunshot wound, but very significant psychological effects after dealing with such a major trauma. So these victims, we see a lot of anxiety, we see depression, we see PTSD symptoms. Especially in kids and adolescents, these symptoms can manifest differently than they do in adults. And if not treated early, they can have lifelong mental health implications, but also, you know, the families that deal with the gun violence, they experience a lot of grief, anxiety, depression, PTSD of their own that they have to deal with. And in communities, we're seeing a lot of kids living in these neighborhoods where there are high rates of gun violence, where they hear gunshots on a regular basis. They hear about people they know being shot. So those kids are kind of growing up in this constant state of fear and high stress. And developmentally, we need stability and safety. So definitely whole communities are impacted by gun violence in a negative way.
Caitlin Whyte: So just how can family and friends support those who have experienced gun violence?
Amy Burnett, DNP, APRN: These victims are going to need a lot of support from everyone in their lives. Checking in with them on a regular basis is extremely important, letting them know that, yes, the event is over, but we understand that long-term, it's never going to be over for you most likely. Having open conversations with them. You know, asking them on a regular basis, how are they doing physically, how are they doing mentally and not leaving out the mental component is very important.
There's a lot of community resources here locally. I feel like the past couple years, they've really tried to develop a lot of community resources for gunshot victims, for their families. And I think taking advantage of those community resources is really important and kind of creating your own support groups out of that. And then, I think what's really important is seeking professional care when needed.
Caitlin Whyte: You know, being that support, at what point should those family and friends encourage the victim to seek more professional help, you know, more than what they are able to offer?
Amy Burnett, DNP, APRN: So again, being a victim of gun violence is extremely traumatic. So it's very normal to have a lot of mood-related issues and long-term effects after going through something this intense. In certain communities and cultures, there's a very negative stigma about reaching out, reaching out for mental health services, which is unfortunate. It's a very normal response to a trauma. So it's extremely important to seek out these services early, to have the best long-term outcomes.
So, you know, when we think about kids and adolescents, when to seek care, kids that appear to have a depressed mood. So mood is down. They are withdrawing. They're not interacting with family and friends like they used to. They have loss of interest in activities that they used to enjoy. They have lost motivation. A lot of them will exhibit high anxiety and PTSD symptoms like nightmares, avoiding situations, people, places. They're always on edge. You will see school-related issues in these kids. They don't want to go to school. And then if they're going to school, sometimes they'll have a significant drop in grades. Behavior issues, kids will often act out when they're experiencing anxiety or depression, because they don't know how to effectively communicate that. So they'll start getting into trouble when they didn't before. Sleep issues, so sleeping too much or sleeping too little can be a red flag. So they have trouble falling asleep, have trouble staying asleep or they're sleeping excessively. Also, substance use. We see a lot of kids that will self-medicate when they have anxiety and depression issues. They will try to solve that themselves by using substances, always a concern and always a reason to seek care.
Caitlin Whyte: So tell us what mental health services does Kentucky Children's Hospital offer to support victims of gun violence. And what ages are those services available to?
Amy Burnett, DNP, APRN: The Kentucky Children's Hospital has been working very hard, not only to prevent gun violence, but to provide resources for support and treatment to victims. This is something that definitely can be discussed with the child's medical provider in routine visits, and that, you know, their regular medical provider can help them find resources.
At UK, we're lucky that we have a specific adolescent medicine clinic. The focus of adolescent medicine are youth ages 10 to 25. This clinic is very good with dealing with kids in high-risk situations. It's a comprehensive primary care clinic. So they come for all their regular needs, but we do regular screening on all patients for mental health concerns. If we notice a mental health concern, then we can connect those patients with mental health services within UK and outside of UK and just help them find resources. So UK does have a lot of resources available at this time.
Caitlin Whyte: Well, doctor, this is a difficult subject to cover, but is there anything else that you would like to address that we haven't touched on already?
Amy Burnett, DNP, APRN: It is a very hard topic. It's a very sad thing to deal with on a regular basis. And unfortunately, we as medical providers are seeing this, seeing the results of gun violence on a regular basis. We just want our kids and our communities to be healthy and happy and safe. If I could say anything, it's just reach out to your medical providers when you have any concerns for safety in these kids. And we're happy to hook you up with any resources and services that we can.
Caitlin Whyte: Well, thank you so much for the work that you're doing in this field and for helping victims get through these horrific events. For more information, you can call the Kentucky Children's Hospital Adolescent Medicine Clinic at 859-323-5643. And that wraps up another episode of UK HealthCast with the University of Kentucky Healthcare. Please remember to subscribe, rate and review this podcast and all of the other University of Kentucky Healthcare podcasts. I'm Caitlin Whyte. Stay well.
