RMIT University, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.
Central Coast Local Health District, Gosford, New South Wales, Australia.
Int J Ment Health Nurs. 2024 Dec;33(6):2063-2070. doi: 10.1111/inm.13362. Epub 2024 May 26.
Emergency department (ED) presentations for mental health (MH) help-seeking have been rising rapidly in recent years. This research aims to identify the service usage demographic for people seeking MH care in the ED, specifically in this case, to understand the usage by First Nation people. This retrospective cohort study examined the sociodemographic and presentation characteristics of individuals seeking MH care in two EDs between 2016 and 2021. Data were collected using existing records and analysed using descriptive univariate analysis with statistical significance between the two sites determined using chi-squared test, p < 0.05. The overall data presented in this analysis show an overall ED mental health presentation rate of 12.02% for those who identified as 'Aboriginal but not Torres Strait Islander origin', 0.36% as 'Both Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander' and 0.27% as 'Torres Strait Islander' totalling 12.63%. This is an overrepresentation compared to the regional population of 4.9%. One site recorded 14.1% of ED presentations that identified as Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander, over double the site's demographic of 6.3%. Given the disproportionately high representation of First Nation people in MH-related ED presentations, further research is required to prioritise a First Nation research perspective that draws on First Nation research methods, such as yarning and storytelling to understand the unique cultural needs and challenges experienced by First Nation people accessing MH care via ED. Understanding the demographic is but one step in supporting the Cultural Safety needs of First Nation people. Additionally, research should be designed, governed and led by First Nation researchers.
近年来，急诊科（ED）因心理健康（MH）寻求帮助的就诊人数迅速上升。本研究旨在确定寻求 ED 心理健康护理的人的服务使用人群特征，特别是在这种情况下，了解原住民的使用情况。这项回顾性队列研究检查了 2016 年至 2021 年间两家 ED 中寻求 MH 护理的个体的社会人口统计学和就诊特征。数据使用现有记录收集，并使用描述性单变量分析进行分析，使用卡方检验确定两个地点之间的统计学意义，p < 0.05。本分析中呈现的总体数据显示，那些自称为“原住民但不是托雷斯海峡岛民”的人在 ED 心理健康就诊中的总体就诊率为 12.02%，“原住民和托雷斯海峡岛民”为 0.36%，“托雷斯海峡岛民”为 0.27%，总计为 12.63%。与该地区 4.9%的人口相比，这是一种代表性过高的情况。一个地点记录了 14.1%的 ED 就诊者是原住民和/或托雷斯海峡岛民，是该地点 6.3%的人口比例的两倍多。鉴于原住民在与 MH 相关的 ED 就诊中代表性过高，需要进一步研究，优先考虑原住民研究视角，该视角借鉴原住民研究方法，如 Yarning 和讲故事，以了解原住民在通过 ED 获得 MH 护理时所经历的独特文化需求和挑战。了解人口特征只是支持原住民文化安全需求的一步。此外，研究应由原住民研究人员设计、管理和领导。
