Rouhani Saba, Machavariani Eteri, McSorley Anna-Michelle, Todd Therese L, Purtle Jonathan
Department of Epidemiology, New York University School of Global Public Health, USA; Center for Anti-racism, Social Justice, and Public Health, NYU School of Global Public Health, USA.
Department of Epidemiology, New York University School of Global Public Health, USA.
Prev Med. 2025 Sep;198:108358. doi: 10.1016/j.ypmed.2025.108358. Epub 2025 Jul 11.
To estimate willingness to call the police in an emergency among US adults to inform policies addressing emergency response and help-seeking.
We utilized cross-sectional data from a web-based 2023 Survey of Racism and Health of (N = 5059) adults in 12 Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic states and D.C. We estimated odds of willingness to call the police as a function of gender, race/ethnicity, and lifetime diagnosis with a behavioral health (substance use or mental health) condition using unadjusted and adjusted logistic regression.
Most of the sample (80 %) reported willingness to call the police in an emergency. Dds were observed among Black (aOR 0.33; 95 % CI 0.27-0.41), American Indian/Native American (aOR 0.43; 95 % CI 0.27, 0.70), and Multiracial (aOR 0.36; 95 % CI 0.25-0.52) compared to White respondents, and those with behavioral health diagnoses (aOR 0.73; 95 % CI 0.61, 0.88). Women (aOR 1.23; 95 % CI 1.05, 1.43) and older adults (Age 55+: aOR 4.62; 95 % CI 3.70, 5.80) reported higher willingness to call the police.
Findings highlight subpopulations for whom the police may not be a viable source of emergency response, particularly individuals who are racially minoritized and/or have behavioral health conditions. This has implications for alternative response programs which rely on 911 dispatch to triage calls and highlights a need for targeted messaging and alternative mechanisms to call for service in communities with police mistrust.
评估美国成年人在紧急情况下报警的意愿，以为应急响应和寻求帮助的政策提供参考。
我们使用了2023年对美国东北部和大西洋中部12个州以及华盛顿特区的（N = 5059）名成年人进行的基于网络的种族主义与健康调查的横断面数据。我们使用未调整和调整后的逻辑回归，将报警意愿的比值估计为性别、种族/族裔以及是否曾被诊断患有行为健康（物质使用或心理健康）疾病的函数。
大多数样本（80%）表示在紧急情况下愿意报警。与白人受访者相比，黑人（调整后的比值比[aOR]为0.33；95%置信区间[CI]为0.27 - 0.41）、美洲印第安人/美国原住民（aOR为0.43；95% CI为0.27, 0.70）以及多种族人群（aOR为0.36；95% CI为0.25 - 0.52）的比值较低，且有行为健康诊断的人群（aOR为0.73；95% CI为0.61, 0.88）也是如此。女性（aOR为1.23；95% CI为1.05, 1.43）和老年人（55岁及以上：aOR为4.62；95% CI为3.70, 5.80）表示更愿意报警。
研究结果凸显了警察可能并非可行的应急响应来源的亚人群体，尤其是那些在种族上处于少数地位和/或患有行为健康疾病的个体。这对依赖911调度来分类呼叫的替代响应计划具有启示意义，并凸显了在对警察不信任的社区中进行有针对性的宣传以及采用替代服务呼叫机制的必要性。
