Experiences of Black Adults Evaluated in a Locked Psychiatric Emergency Unit: A Qualitative Study.

Objective: Evidence shows that Black individuals have higher rates of coercive emergency psychiatric interventions than other racialized groups, yet no studies have elevated the voices of Black patients undergoing emergency psychiatric evaluation. This qualitative study sought to explore the experiences of Black individuals who had been evaluated in a locked psychiatric emergency unit (PEU).

Methods: Electronic health records were used to identify and recruit adult patients (ages ≥18 years) who self-identified as Black and who had undergone evaluation in a locked PEU at a large academic medical center.

Association of Black Race With Physical and Chemical Restraint Use Among Patients Undergoing Emergency Psychiatric Evaluation.

Objective: Few studies have examined the disproportionate use of restraints for Black adults receiving emergency psychiatric care. This study sought to determine whether the odds of physical and chemical restraint use were higher for Black patients undergoing emergency psychiatric care compared with their White counterparts.

Methods: This single-center retrospective cohort study examined 12,977 unique encounters of adults receiving an emergency psychiatric evaluation between January 1, 2014, and September 18, 2020, at a large academic medical center in Durham, North Carolina.