The Effect of COVID-19 Restrictions on Calls for Service on Drugs, Alcohol, and Mental Health

This study tested the effect of COVID-19 restrictions on calls for service related to drugs, alcohol, and mental health. The calls for service regarding these outcomes before, during, and after COVID-19 restrictions were aggregated into daily counts (N = 3,213). Two different measures, including cou...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Demir, Mustafa (Author)
Contributors: Park, Suyeon
Format: Electronic Article
Language:English
Published: 2025
In: American journal of criminal justice
Year: 2025, Volume: 50, Issue: 2, Pages: 253-281
Online Access: Volltext (lizenzpflichtig)
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Keywords:
interrupted time series analysis
Mental health calls
Alcohol-related calls
Drug-related calls
Covid-19
Health Policy
Drugs
Drug Regulation
Psychopharmacology
Public Health
Mental Health
Description
Summary:This study tested the effect of COVID-19 restrictions on calls for service related to drugs, alcohol, and mental health. The calls for service regarding these outcomes before, during, and after COVID-19 restrictions were aggregated into daily counts (N = 3,213). Two different measures, including count and rate, were used for these outcomes. The results of the multivariate analyses, which included negative binomial regression for the count measures, ordinary least squares (OLS) regression for the rate measures, and daily interrupted time series analyses, indicated that calls related to drugs and mental health significantly increased during the COVID-19 restrictions. However, while alcohol-related calls also increased, this rise was not statistically significant. The limitations and implications of the study are discussed.
ISSN:1936-1351
DOI:10.1007/s12103-024-09783-7