• Jane P Gagliardi, Colin M Smith, Erika J K Chang-Sing, Laura D Cramer, Leah Robinson, Dhruvil Shah, Pateel A Jivalagian, Nicholas A Turner, and Ambrose H Wong.
• Department of Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences, Duke University School of Medicine, Durham, North Carolina; Department of Medicine, Duke University School of Medicine, Durham, North Carolina. Electronic address: jane.gagliardi@duke.edu.
• Am J Prev Med. 2024 Jan 1; 66 (1): 154158154-158.

IntroductionPolice involvement in patient transport to emergency medical care has increased over time, yet studies assessing racial inequities in transport are limited. This study evaluated the relationship between race and police transport to the emergency department for adult patients.MethodsThis cross-sectional study evaluated adult (aged ≥18 years) visits at 13 different emergency departments across two regional hospital systems in the Southeastern and Northeastern U.S. from 2015 to 2022. Data were extracted from electronic health records. This analysis evaluated the association between race and transport by police transport using generalized linear multivariable mixed model with a binary logistic link for presence of police transport. Data were nested by patient and adjusted for site, demographics, and diagnostic visit characteristics.ResultsOf 4,291,809 adult emergency department visits, 25,901 (0.6%) involved transport by police. Of the 25,901 visits in police-involved encounters, 10,513 (40.6%) patients were Black, and 9,827 (37.9%) were White. The adjusted model showed that Black patients were at higher odds of transport by police than White patients (AOR=1.64; 95% CI=1.57-1.72). Male sex, younger age (18-35 years), history of behavioral health diagnosis, and emergency department psychiatric or substance use disorders were independently associated with increased odds of police transport.ConclusionsThis analysis revealed racial inequities in police-involved transport to emergency medical care, highlighting an urgent need to evaluate drivers of inequities and the ways in which police transport influences clinical outcomes.Copyright © 2023 American Journal of Preventive Medicine. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

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