Evidence map›Paper›PMID 34350595›Full record

ArticleHealth services research2021

Police brutality and unmet need for mental health care.

Sirry Alang, Taylor B Rogers, Lillie D Williamson, Cherrell Green, April J Bell

Open access · greenAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Health services research, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 16 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
16citing papers in PubMed
1.6field-weighted citation impact, top 15% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

16 citing papers in PubMed, 22 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Article
  2. Cumulative Exposure to Police-Involved Shootings and Mental Health Conditions in Minneapolis, Minnesota.Journal of urban health : bulletin of the New York Academy of Medicine · 2026
    Article
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  6. Anticipatory Violence and Health Among Black Adults in the United States.Journal of racial and ethnic health disparities · 2026
    Article
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  13. Article
  14. Nonurgent Emergency Department Use Among Women Sentenced to Probation.Journal of correctional health care : the official journal of the National Commission on Correctional Health Care · 2023
    Article
  15. Article
  16. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

5 authors at 5 institutions in 1 country.

Sirry AlangDepartment of Sociology, Program in Health, Medicine and Society, and Health Justice Collaborative, Lehigh University, Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, USA.ORCID 0000-0003-2049-5648
Taylor B RogersDepartment of Health Policy and Management, Fielding School of Public Health, University of California, Los Angeles, California, USA.
Lillie D WilliamsonDepartment of Communication Arts, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, Wisconsin, USA.
Cherrell GreenDepartment of Criminology & Criminal Justice, University of Missouri, St. Louis, Missouri, USA.
April J BellCalifornia Preterm Birth Initiative, Obstetrics, Gynecology & Reproductive Sciences, University of California, San Francisco, California, USA.
Lehigh University · USUniversity of California, Los Angeles · USUniversity of California, San Francisco · USUniversity of Missouri–St. Louis · USUniversity of Wisconsin–Madison · US

Funding

NRSA Training CoreTL1TR001883 · NCATS · UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA LOS ANGELES · PI ALEX BUI, Nina Thawata Harawa · 2016 to 2026
$8.6M
Transdisciplinary Research Training to Reduce Disparities in Preterm Birth and Improve Maternal and Neonatal OutcomesT32HD098057 · NICHD · UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, SAN FRANCISCO · PI KUPPERMANN, MIRIAM · 2019 to 2023
$1.4M
NCATS NIH HHS TL1 TR001883NICHD NIH HHS T32 HD098057
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

objectiveNational movements have raised awareness of the adverse mental health effects of police brutality. This study examines the relationship between perceived police brutality and unmet need for mental health care. DATA SOURCES: We used the 2018 Survey of the Health of Urban Residents (N = 4338), a quota sample survey of adults in urban areas in the contiguous United States. STUDY

designMultivariate regressions were used to understand the association between police brutality and unmet need for mental health care. Unmet need was regressed on police brutality (the independent variable), controlling for sociodemographic and health status characteristics of respondents and access to care. We then stratified the sample by experiences of police brutality (no negative encounters with the police, encounters that were perceived as necessary, and encounters that were considered unnecessary) and described how medical mistrust and perceived respect within health care settings were associated with odds of unmet need for each subsample. DATA COLLECTION: Data were collected online. PRINCIPAL

findingsNegative police encounters perceived as necessary were associated with greater odds of unmet need compared to no negative police encounters (odds ratio [OR] = 1.98, confidence interval [CI] = 1.30-2.65). Odds of unmet need were also higher among persons with negative and unnecessary police encounters (OR = 1.28, CI = 1.05-1.56). Greater respect was associated with lower odds of unmet need among persons who reported negative unnecessary encounters with the police (OR = 0.88, CI = 0.72-0.97). Medical mistrust was associated with greater odds of unmet need among those with negative unnecessary police encounters (OR = 1.52, CI = 1.12-1.93).

conclusionsPersons who are exposed to police brutality are also likely to be those who experience unmet need for mental health care. Ensuring that they feel respected within medical settings and establishing conditions that build trust in medical institutions are important for eliminating unmet need for mental health care.

Indexed as

AdultEthnicityFemaleHumansInternetMaleMental Health ServicesMiddle AgedPoliceSurveys and QuestionnairesTrustUnited StatesViolenceYoung Adultmedical mistrustpolice brutalitypolice brutality and mental healthrespect in health care settingsunmet mental health need

Identifiers

PMID34350595
PMCPMC8586484
OpenAlexW3190338645

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.