Demographic Trends in Emergency Department Visits for Psychiatric Concerns During the COVID-19 Pandemic.

ABSTRACT:

Objective

To describe changes in emergency department (ED) psychiatric visits during the pandemic in both rural and nonrural regions in the United States.

Methods

This cohort study was performed across 22 EDs in the Midwest and Southern United States from January 1, 2019 to April 22, 2021. Prevalence of psychiatric visits before and after the COVID-19 pandemic, defined as starting on March 1, 2020, were compared. Psychiatric and nonpsychiatric visits were defined on the basis of primary clinician-assigned diagnosis. The primary end point was average daily visits normalized to the average daily visit count before the pandemic, labeled as relative mean daily visits (RMDVs).

Results

Psychiatric visits decreased by 9% [RMDVs, 0.91; 95% confidence interval (CI), 0.89-0.93]

SUBMITTER: James JK 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9359487 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature