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Inpatient psychiatric facilities in the United States lack systematic regulation and monitoring of a variety of patient safety concerns. We conducted a qualitative analysis of 61 news articles to identify common causes and types of harms within inpatient psychiatric facilities, with a focus on physical harm. The news articles reported on patient self-harm, patient-patient violence, and violence between patients and staff, noting that youth, older adults, and veterans were especially vulnerable. Harms occurred throughout the care continuum - at admission, during the inpatient stay, and at discharge - and retaliation towards whistleblowers deterred facility accountability. We recommend 1) addressing staffing shortages, 2) instituting systematic monitoring of critical incidents and the experiences of consumers and staff, 3) improving both inpatient safety and post-discharge community supports, and 4) continued journalistic coverage of harms within inpatient psychiatric facilities.

Parents with disabilities experience discrimination within the child welfare, family law, and adoption and foster care systems. In response, there have been increasing calls for states to pass legislation prohibiting discrimination against parents with disabilities, and as of 2020, 28 states have passed or are considering such legislation. This qualitative study explored the perspectives of 19 advocates, attorneys, and legislators on barriers and solutions for passing legislation to protect the rights of parents with disabilities. Participants identified three barriers: (a) legislators’ pejorative attitudes toward parents with disabilities, (b) external opposition, and (c) legislative barriers. Participants also identified eight solutions: (a) cross-disability advocacy, (b) education, (c) relationship-building, (d) bipartisanship, (e) support from state and national organizations, (f) strong sponsors, (g) incrementalism, and (h) model legislation. Study findings should help to inform ongoing legislative advocacy to protect the rights of parents with disabilities.

There is a dearth of academic work on public sex among women, especially compared to the wealth of information about men's public sex cultures. To address this disparity, an exploratory study was carried out in which queer women were interviewed to collect their opinions about and experiences with public sex. Based on their responses, queer women have public sex in an unplanned manner, and often within relationships, rejecting the dominant paradigm of men's anonymous cruising cultures. This research indicates that there should be future study on women's public sex, as well as on a wider variety of public sexual behaviors among and between men and women.It would almost be accurate to say that there is no existing academic work on public sex between women. Particularly when compared to the abundance of work on men and public sex -their cultures, norms, locations, safer sex measures or lack thereof -the absence of work documenting and analyzing women's public sexual behavior or motivations with respect to public sex indicates an academic void. While it is arguable that there should be more research on men's public sex because it occurs in organized subcultures that women do not have (at least as far as has been documented), I see the almost complete lack of attention to women and public sex as indicating that the topic has been neglected, not that it is unstudyable. I therefore aimed to address the lack of work on women's public sex by collecting opinions on and stories about public sex from women who have sex with women. I did not go into the project with assumptions about whether women actually have public sex -only the belief that for whatever they do, there is a rationale. My study is by no means representative or comprehensive. Rather, I see my project as seeking a new perspective on space and women's sexuality.

Objective Women who are deaf experience higher rates of reproductive healthcare barriers and adverse birth outcomes compared with their peers who can hear. This study explores the pregnancy experiences of women who are deaf to better understand their barriers to and facilitators of optimal pregnancy‐related health care. Design Qualitative study using thematic analysis. Setting Semi‐structured, individual, remote or in‐person interviews conducted in the USA. Sample Forty‐five women who are deaf and communicate using American Sign Language (ASL) and gave birth in the USA within the past 5 years participated in the interviews. Methods Semi‐structured interviews explored how mothers who are deaf experienced pregnancy and birth, including access to perinatal information and resources, relationships with healthcare providers, communication access and their involvement with the healthcare system throughout pregnancy. A thematic analysis was conducted. Main outcome measures Barriers and facilitators related to a positive experience of perinatal care access among women who are deaf. Results Three major themes emerged: (1) communication accessibility; (2) communication satisfaction; and (3) healthcare provider and team support. Common barriers included choosing healthcare providers, inconsistent communication access and difficulty accessing health information. However, when women who are deaf were able to use ASL interpreters, they had more positive pregnancy and birth experiences. Self‐advocacy served as a common facilitator for more positive pregnancy and healthcare experiences. Conclusions Healthcare providers need to be more aware of the communication and support needs of their patients who are deaf, especially how to communicate effectively. Increased cultural awareness and consistent provision of on‐site interpreters can improve pregnancy and birth experiences for women who are deaf.