Humanities

Numerous societal factors have given rise to acute psychiatric conditions in patients referred for mental health evaluation and treatment at a specified emergency room (ER). Some of these risk factors include homelessness, domestic violence, unemployment, and poverty; acute and recurring mental illnesses; comorbid disorders, and the effects of war as evidenced by soldiers returning home from overseas with signs of post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms. The increase in referrals from correctional facilities, jails, juvenile detention centers, group homes, nursing homes, and schools poi...