Needs Assessment
Interviews and focus groups with emergency department staff, patients, and family/support persons revealed several consistent themes around mental health-related stigma in emergency care settings.
Key Findings:
🚧 Structural stigma was a major barrier to care
Participants described how policies, processes, limited resources, and fragmented services negatively impact access to compassionate and timely mental healthcare.
🏥 Emergency departments are not always designed for mental health care
Physical spaces were often viewed as overstimulating, unsafe, or lacking privacy for people experiencing mental health or substance use crises.
💬 Patients and families frequently felt dismissed or misunderstood
Experiences of judgment, lack of empathy, or not being listened to contributed to feelings of shame, distrust, and reluctance to seek future care.
⚖️ Staff identified challenges related to workload and system pressures
Healthcare providers reported burnout, limited time, overcrowding, and insufficient mental health supports as barriers to delivering optimal care.
🎓 Training gaps were identified across staff groups
Participants highlighted the need for more education in trauma-informed care, de-escalation, stigma reduction, and mental health crisis response.
❤️ Trauma- and resiliency-informed approaches were seen as essential
Participants emphasized that compassionate, person-centered care can improve patient experiences and outcomes.
🔄 Integrated and sustained system-level change is needed
Recommendations focused on improving collaboration, continuity of care, staffing supports, and access to mental health services both inside and outside emergency departments.
Conclusions:
The study found that improving mental health care in emergency settings requires more than individual attitude change. Participants emphasized the need for system-wide improvements that promote safety, dignity, compassion, and equitable access to care. Trauma- and resiliency-informed models of care should serve as a foundation for reducing stigma, improving patient experiences, supporting healthcare providers, and sustaining organizational change.