COVID-19 and Mental Health: An Examination of 911 Calls for Service

The Spatio-Temporal Distribution of Suicide-related Emergency Calls in a European City: Age and Gender Patterns, and Neighborhood Influences

Objective: The aim of this study was to conduct a comprehensive spatio-temporal analysis of suicide-related emergency calls in the city of Valencia (Spain) over a six-year period. To this end we first examined age and gender patterns and, second, the influence of neighborhood characteristics on general and gender-specific spatio-temporal patterns of suicide-related emergency calls. Method: Geocoded data on suicide-related emergency calls between 2017 and 2022 (N = 10,030) were collected from the 112 emergency service in Valencia. Data were aggregated at the census block group level, used as a proxy for neighborhoods, and trimesters were considered as the temporal unit. Two set of analyses were performed: (1) demographic (age and gender) and temporal descriptive analyses and (2) general and gender-specific Bayesian spatio-temporal autoregressive models. Results: Descriptive analyses revealed a higher incidence of suicide-related emergency calls among females and an increase in calls among the 18-23 age group from 2020 onwards. The general spatio-temporal model showed higher levels of suicide-related emergency calls in neighborhoods characterized by lower education levels and population density, and higher residential mobility, aging population, and immigrant concentration. Relevant gender differences were also observed. A seasonal effect was noted, with a peak in calls during spring for females and summer for males. Conclusions: These findings highlight the need for comprehensive mental health targeted interventions and preventive strategies that account for gender-specific disparities, age-related vulnerabilities, and the specific characteristics of neighborhoods.

The Association between Mental Health-Related 911 Calls and the Mental Health Professional Shortage in New York City

This study examines the relationship between designated Mental Health Professional Shortage Areas (MH HPSAs) and mental health-related 911 calls in New York City. Negative binomial regression models were used to estimate the relationship between MH HPSAs and MH 911 calls after adjusting for the population size and other neighborhood characteristics. The study found that neighborhoods designated as MH HPSAs had higher MH 911 calls compared to non-shortage areas, with a 27% increase in expected MH 911 calls after adjustment. Moreover, the results indicated that neighborhoods with higher rates of homelessness and poverty generated more MH 911 calls. The findings suggest a need to improve access to mental health services to reduce the burden on police and emergency services for crisis interventions in areas with limited resources.

Implementation and evaluation of a juvenile mental health training for law enforcement in a medium-sized jurisdiction

The need for specialized training programs that are focused on youth mental health needs, awareness of community-based services, and de-escalation skills is growing across law enforcement agencies due to calls for service that involve youth in mental health crisis. The current study evaluates a juvenile mental health training for law enforcement that was developed based on agency needs. The training was completed by 159 officers and a pre-/post-test design was used. Findings suggest that officers were satisfied with the training and improvements were seen across several training constructs (confidence, preparedness, stigma, resource awareness, and de-escalation skills). Satisfaction with the training predicted change in confidence and preparedness. Recommendations for future research and the implementation of juvenile mental health trainings are discussed.

The impact of COVID-19 on police officer activities

OBJECTIVE

This study examined the impact of COVID-19 on police reactive and proactive activities in Houston, Texas. Seven types of police officer reactivity and three distinct categories of proactivity were examined.

METHODS

Weekly calls for service data from January 1, 2018-December 31, 2020 were analyzed through interrupted time series using ARIMA models.

RESULTS

Police responses to property, traffic-related activities, and service-related calls all decreased when compared to previous years. A significant increase was observed for violent crime calls. Self-initiated activities performed by specialized crime units significantly decreased, but there was a significant increase in self-initiated patrol. Activities performed by a specialized response unit initially increased, but then went back to pre-pandemic levels following the death of George Floyd.

CONCLUSIONS

Observed decreases in reactivity may be attributed to changes in citizens' routine activities. COVID-19 was associated with increased demands for police responses to violence, consistent with extant research. A unique contribution of this study was the incorporation of officer proactivity. Changes to proactive patrol could also be attributed to changes in the routine activities of citizens. This study adds to the growing body of literature examining the impact of COVID-19 on police services.

A Global Study of Police Administrators’ Perceptions of the Effectiveness of Organizational Changes During the COVID-19 Pandemic

This study expands the developing body of literature examining the effect of the policing organizational and operational changes brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic. Using data from 250 police administrators from 29 countries worldwide, we explore police executives' perceived effectiveness of various organizational and operational changes made to keep their officers and the community safe. Specifically, we look at organizational and operational changes, changes recommended by public health experts (i.e., the World Health Organization), officers' adherence to the new rules and regulations, and the effect of COVID-19 death and infection rates. The results largely show that police administrators' perceptions of effectiveness were in-line with risk avoidance and risk mitigation strategies. However, not all variables exerted the anticipated effect. The implications for police administrators and further research are discussed.

The effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on mental health calls for police service

Drawing upon seven years of police calls for service data (2014-2020), this study examined the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on calls involving persons with perceived mental illness (PwPMI) using a Bayesian Structural Time Series. The findings revealed that PwPMI calls did not increase immediately after the beginning of the pandemic in March 2020. Instead, a sustained increase in PwPMI calls was identified in August 2020 that later became statistically significant in October 2020. Ultimately, the analysis revealed a 22% increase in PwPMI calls during the COVID-19 pandemic than would have been expected had the pandemic not taken place. The delayed effect of the pandemic on such calls points to a need for policymakers to prioritize widely accessible mental health care that can be deployed early during public health emergencies thus potentially mitigating or eliminating the need for increased police intervention, as was the case here.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s40163-021-00157-6.

Novelty Seeking and Mental Health in Chinese University Students Before, During, and After the COVID-19 Pandemic Lockdown: A Longitudinal Study

COVID-19 has created significant concern surrounding the impact of pandemic lockdown on mental health. While the pandemic lockdown can be distressing, times of crisis can also provide people with the opportunity to think divergently and explore different activities. Novelty seeking, where individuals explore novel and unfamiliarly stimuli and environments, may enhance the creativity of individuals to solve problems in a way that allows them to adjust their emotional responses to stressful situations. This study employs a longitudinal design to investigate changes in novelty seeking and mental health outcomes (namely, stress, anxiety, and depression) before, during, and after COVID-19 pandemic lockdown, among a group of students (final N = 173; M age = 19.81; SD age = 0.98; 135 females and 38 males) from a university in southeast China. Participants were surveyed at three points: November, 2019 (prior to the COVID-19 pandemic); between February and March, 2020 (during the peak of the pandemic and intense lockdown in China); and between May and June, 2020 (after lockdown had been lifted in China). Cross-sectionally, correlation analysis indicated that greater novelty seeking was associated with lower levels of stress, anxiety, and depression at all three time points. Univariate latent curve modeling (LCM) indicated a growth trajectory in which novelty seeking increased over time and then remained high during the post-lockdown period. Stress, anxiety, and depression all showed V-shaped growth trajectories in which these variables decreased during lockdown, before increasing in the post-lockdown period. Multivariate LCM indicated the growth trajectory for novelty seeking was associated with the growth trajectories for stress, anxiety, and depression. This suggests that the observed decreases in stress, anxiety, and depression during the lockdown period may be attributable to the sample's observed increase in novelty seeking. These findings are valuable in that they challenge the notion that lockdown measures are inherently detrimental to mental health. The findings indicate the important role of novelty seeking in responding to crises. It may be possible for future public health measures to incorporate the promotion of novelty seeking to help individuals' respond to stressful situations and maintain good mental health in the face of crises.

The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on self-harm and suicidal behaviour: update of living systematic review

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic has caused considerable morbidity, mortality and disruption to people's lives around the world. There are concerns that rates of suicide and suicidal behaviour may rise during and in its aftermath. Our living systematic review synthesises findings from emerging literature on incidence and prevalence of suicidal behaviour as well as suicide prevention efforts in relation to COVID-19, with this iteration synthesising relevant evidence up to 19 th October 2020. Method:  Automated daily searches feed into a web-based database with screening and data extraction functionalities. Eligibility criteria include incidence/prevalence of suicidal behaviour, exposure-outcome relationships and effects of interventions in relation to the COVID-19 pandemic. Outcomes of interest are suicide, self-harm or attempted suicide and suicidal thoughts. No restrictions are placed on language or study type, except for single-person case reports. We exclude one-off cross-sectional studies without either pre-pandemic measures or comparisons of COVID-19 positive vs. unaffected individuals. Results: Searches identified 6,226 articles. Seventy-eight articles met our inclusion criteria. We identified a further 64 relevant cross-sectional studies that did not meet our revised inclusion criteria. Thirty-four articles were not peer-reviewed (e.g. research letters, pre-prints). All articles were based on observational studies. There was no consistent evidence of a rise in suicide but many studies noted adverse economic effects were evolving. There was evidence of a rise in community distress, fall in hospital presentation for suicidal behaviour and early evidence of an increased frequency of suicidal thoughts in those who had become infected with COVID-19. Conclusions:  Research evidence of the impact of COVID-19 on suicidal behaviour is accumulating rapidly. This living review provides a regular synthesis of the most up-to-date research evidence to guide public health and clinical policy to mitigate the impact of COVID-19 on suicide risk as the longer term impacts of the pandemic on suicide risk are researched.