Race, ethnicity and utilization of security emergency responses among non-psychiatric inpatients

Race, ethnicity and utilization of security emergency responses among non-psychiatric inpatients

Abstract

Security emergency responses (SER), or instances where security personnel are summoned to respond to an emergent patient situation, affect approximately 1-2% of non-psychiatric inpatients. A recent study performed at an academic medical center in Boston, MA found that after adjustment for covariates, Black patients had 37% higher odds of SER compared to White patients, while there was no statistically significant difference for Hispanic compared to White patients. The goal of this study is to assess for the generalizability of these findings across UCLA Health, which serves a population of patients from diverse racial and ethnic backgrounds. Further, we aim to complement a quantitative approach to this line of inquiry with qualitative methods. To achieve this, we will compare rates of SER and physical restraint with SER between different racial and ethnic groups among patients admitted to non-psychiatric wards at UCLA Health acute care hospitals, including UCLA Ronald Reagan Medical Center and UCLA Santa Monica Medical Center. We will then use multivariable logistic regression models to adjust for potentially confounding factors. We will also perform semi-structured interviews and surveys with Black and Latinx patients, patient caregivers and providers involved in SERs to assess their experiences and identify common themes.

Field

David Geffen School of Medicine, Division of General Internal Medicine and Health Services Research

Team

Evan Michael Shannon, Mikel Whittier

Dr. Evan Shannon

Dr. Evan Shannon: Dr. Shannon is a clinician investigator at the UCLA David Geffen School of Medicine in the Division of General Internal Medicine and Health Services Research and a hospitalist at the VA Greater Los Angeles Health System. His research passions include understanding how different levels of racism effect the delivery care in the inpatient environment and in care transitions, and how social determinants of health impact vulnerability to climate change.

Mikel Whittier

Mr. Mikel Whittier: Mikel Whittier is the inaugural director of the Office of Health Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion established April 2021 at UCLA Health. Mikel has vast experience advancing health equity and racial equity in health care settings like academic medical centers, state, and urban public health systems, and non-for-profit hospital systems.