Collateral effects of COVID-19 stay-at-home orders on violence against women in the United States, January 2019 to December 2020.

Background: The necessary execution of non-pharmaceutical risk-mitigation (NPRM) strategies to reduce the transmission of COVID-19 has created an unprecedented natural experiment to ascertain whether pandemic-induced social-policy interventions may elevate collateral health risks. Here, we assess the effects on violence against women (VAW) of the duration of NPRM measures that were executed through jurisdictional-level orders in the United States. We expect that stay-at-home orders, by reducing mobility and disrupting non-coresident social ties, are associated with higher incident reporting of VAW.

Development and validation of the LoVI: the Laws on Violence against women and girls Index.

Background: Violence against women and girls (VAWG) is a human-rights violation with adverse long-term and inter-generational consequences. Redefining VAWG as legally unacceptable is one strategy for social change. The co-occurrence of national laws against VAWG is understudied, and tools to monitor the national legal environment are lacking.

Patients Threatening Harm to Others Evaluated in the Emergency Department under the Florida Involuntary Hold Act (Baker Act).

Objectives: This study describes the specific threats of harm to others that led to the use of the Baker Act, the Florida involuntary hold act for emergency department (ED) evaluations. The study also summarizes patient demographics, concomitant psychiatric diagnoses, and emergent medical problems.

Methods: This is a retrospective review of 251 patients evaluated while on involuntary hold from January 1, 2014 through November 30, 2015 at a suburban acute care hospital ED.

Patients on Involuntary Hold Status in the Emergency Department.

Objectives: Patients requiring involuntary holds are frequently seen in the emergency department (ED). Much of what is known comes from studies of patients at urban academic centers. Our aim was to describe the demographic and clinical characteristics of patients who were evaluated while on involuntary status at a suburban ED.