Police medics

BACKGROUND: People with mental illness are overrepresented in United States (US) criminal legal systems. In response, alternatives to traditional police response to behavioral health emergencies have become more common, despite limited evidence for their effectiveness. We conducted the first randomized controlled trial of a police-mental health co-response team to determine program effectiveness relative to a police-as-usual response on key outcomes identified by community stakeholders...

INTRODUCTION: Cannabis intoxication may increase the risk of motor vehicle crashes. However, reliable methods of assessing cannabis intoxication are limited. The presence of eyelid tremors is among the signs of cannabis use identified under the Drug Evaluation and Classification Program of the International Association of Chiefs of Police. Our objectives were to assess the accuracy and replicability of identifying eyelid tremor as an indicator of recent cannabis smoking using a blinded, controlled study design...

The respect for human rights in mental health care services significantly contributes to organizational well-being and is evolving into an actual benchmark of quality standards. This study assesses the perception of the respect for human rights for users and staff, as well as organizational and job satisfaction among mental health professionals in three South American countries, through the well-being at work and respect for human rights (WWRR) questionnaire and assesses whether there are significant differences...

INTRODUCTION: Sanquin donor medicine department is informed when donations or their components are rejected. This can occur isolated or frequently. It is undesirable because the donations cannot be used and there may be an underlying medical cause. Based on regional approaches, a uniform procedure was developed. METHODS: Information about whole blood, plasma- plateletpheresis donations from which one or more components were rejected for filtration time (>2 h), hemolysis or clots were extracted from blood bank information system...

INTRODUCTION: Basic life support (BLS) is an emergency skill that includes performing appropriate cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR). Out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) is a leading cause of mortality worldwide and is rising in Nepal. After an OHCA event, a bystander starting CPR quickly has been shown to increase the survival rate. While the Nepali police are generally the first responders to emergencies in rural parts, they are not trained in BLS. This program assesses a pilot training of hands-only CPR and choking first aid to the Nepal Police and Nepal Army participants in rural Nepal...

The 22nd Law Commission of India (henceforth, the Commission) [1], in its recent 283rd report, offered its recommendation on the question of age of consent (AoC) to sexual activity. Two High Courts which have seen several cases of non-exploitative consensual sex involving adolescent girls, filed by the police under "sexual assault", had referred this issue to the Commission. The substantive matter before the Commission was whether to lower the AoC to prevent unnecessary prosecutions and resolve the contradictions in sexual violence laws...

BACKGROUND: Interpersonal violence impacts communities, victims, perpetrators, families, and children. This audit of 315 cases of non-sexual assault compares characteristics of general assault to those of non-fatal strangulation (NFS). METHOD: Clinical review of all cases referred to Clinical Forensics Australian Capital Territory (CFACT) by ACT Policing between 2018 and 2022, following allegations of non-sexual assault. Descriptions of the model of care, victim characteristics, alleged perpetrators, and presentations in NFS versus general assault, from forensic medical examination...

BACKGROUND & AIMS: Deployment of law enforcement operational canines (OpK9s) risks injuries to the animals. This study's aim was to assess the current status of states' OpK9 (veterinary Emergency Medical Services [VEMS]) laws and care protocols within the United States. METHODS: Cross-sectional standardized review of state laws/regulations and OpK9 VEMS treatment protocols was undertaken. For each state and for the District of Columbia (DC), the presence of OpK9 legislation and/or care protocols was ascertained...

BACKGROUND: International systematic reviews suggest an association between alcohol availability and increased alcohol-related harms. Alcohol availability is regulated through separate locally administered licensing systems in England and Scotland, in which local public health teams have a statutory role. The system in Scotland includes a public health objective for licensing. Public health teams engage to varying degrees in licensing matters but no previous study has sought to objectively characterise and measure their activity, examine their effectiveness, or compare practices between Scotland and England...

Investigators and inspectors appointed under the Australia Health Practitioner Regulation National Law play important roles by gathering and assessing evidence used in disciplinary proceedings and/or criminal prosecutions. In performing these roles, investigators and inspectors exercise "police-like" powers including coercive questioning and entry onto private property with or without a search warrant. The investigation process can add additional stress and anxiety for health practitioners who are subject to disciplinary proceedings...

Spit hoods have been used for decades to reduce the ability of people to spit and bite police officers, corrective services officers, paramedics, doctors and nurses. However, historically and in public consciousness they have sinister resonances and often induce fear, panic and distress in persons to whom they are applied or in whose presence they are worn. Problematically frequently spit hoods have been used on detainees from ethnic minorities, including in Australia, on Indigenous persons, individuals with mental illnesses and children taken into custody...

Black men face high rates of police violence, including direct victimization and indirect exposure to or knowledge of harmful policing. This violence can result in death and physical harm, as well as in numerous poor mental health outcomes. There has been little research examining experiences of police violence experienced by Black gay and bisexual men or the effects of police brutality on HIV continuum of care outcomes. To address this important gap, in this exploratory study, we examined the effects of police brutality on engagement in HIV care and adherence to antiretroviral medications...

OBJECTIVE: The RSVP (Rapid Serial Visual Presentation) paradigm facilitates target identification in a rapid picture stream, which is applied extensively in military target surveillance and police monitoring. Most researchers concentrate on the single target RSVP-BCI whereas the study of dual-target is scarcely conducted, limiting RSVP application considerably. METHODS: This paper proposed a novel classification model named Common Representation Extraction-Targeted Stacked Convolutional Autoencoder (CRE-TSCAE) to detect two targets with one nontarget in RSVP tasks...

INTRODUCTION: In invasive cervical specimens or precursors, high-risk human papillomavirus Deoxyribonucleic acid may be detected to identify females at risk of developing cervical cancer. This study aimed to find out the prevalence of human papillomavirus among women undergoing Papanicolaou smear tests in a tertiary care centre. METHODS: A descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted among women undergoing the Papanicolaou smear test in the Department of Gynaecologic Oncology, Nepal Armed Police Force Hospital, between 1 June 2022 and 15 November 2022...

Introduction Chronic stress breaches the normal homeostasis of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis, leads to chronic adrenal fatigue, and causes hypertrophy and hyperplasia of the adrenal gland. The current study was carried out with the aim of observing the difference in gross morphological changes in the adrenals of people dying by suicide and from sudden death, as persons committing suicide are exposed to chronic stress (depression), while those dying suddenly are exposed to the acute stress of dying...

Moral injury is a serious concern among first responders. Not only does moral injury occur with notable frequency among first response groups such as police, fire safety, and emergency medical personnel, but it also poses considerable mental health challenges. Despite a recent explosion of research on moral injury, the literature would benefit from a systematic investigation of how first responders describe their experiences in their own words. We conducted semistructured interviews with 36 graduates of a first responder trauma healing course...

OBJECTIVE: This study describes the local Emergency Medical Services (EMS) response and patient encounters corresponding to the civil unrest occurring over a four-day period in Spring 2020 in Indianapolis, Indiana (USA). METHODS: This study describes the non-conventional EMS response to civil unrest. The study included patients encountered by EMS in the area of the civil unrest occurring in Indianapolis, Indiana from May 29 through June 1, 2020. The area of civil unrest defined by Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department covered 15 blocks by 12 blocks (roughly 4...

British drug policies could underserve women with treatment needs, and this paper provides evidence that communication through the words and actions of professionals across drug and alcohol services, health and mental health, social work and the criminal justice sector can leave women feeling stigmatised and failed. Women live with the stigma of 'the lying addict'; however, documents and courtroom statements provided by professionals can misrepresent women's experiences, which exacerbates social harm. Data are drawn from feminist participatory action research, where female lived experience experts worked alongside academics to implement a qualitative study using interviews and focus groups with women using treatment services (n = 28) and an online world café with professionals working with these women (n = 9) and further professionals providing support at lived experience data collection events (n = 5)...

OBJECTIVE: Examine differences in neighborhood characteristics and services between overdose hotspot and non-hotspot neighborhoods and identify neighborhood-level population factors associated with increased overdose incidence. METHODS: We conducted a population-based retrospective analysis of Rhode Island, USA residents who had a fatal or non-fatal overdose from 2016 to 2020 using an environmental scan and data from Rhode Island emergency medical services, State Unintentional Drug Overdose Reporting System, and the American Community Survey...

BACKGROUND: Socioeconomic inequalities in the population influence access to health services and constitute a challenge for health systems, especially in low- and middle-income countries. In Peru, an increase in the use of medical services has been estimated; however, the study of inequalities in the use of medical services is limited. Therefore, the objective of this research was to analyze and decompose socioeconomic inequalities in the use of medical consultation services in Peru. METHODS: A cross-sectional analytical study was conducted using data from the National Household Survey 2019...