Structural interventions and policing in the United States: a scoping review of public health literature

Public health researchers have called for increased attention to designing structural interventions that attempt to change underlying sociopolitical conditions that perpetuate poor health. However, what constitutes a structural intervention is not well known. In the United States, policing is a public health issue that could benefit from structural interventions, but little is known within the field of public health about existing structural interventions focused on police. We conducted a scoping review of public health literature to identify the current state of knowledge related to structural interventions and police. We completed a PubMed search using key terms related to policing and structural interventions. Through this search, we identified 138 English language articles published between 2019 and 2024. After screening articles for relevance, 35 articles were included for this review. Thematic analysis of the remaining articles identified key opportunities for designing structural interventions related to policing, including (1) focusing on Black, LGBTQ+, immigrant, Indigenous, and Asian populations; (2) using theoretical perspectives that consider structural factors driving poor health; and (3) using mixed methods and/or qualitative data collection techniques. Similarly, there is a need for multi-level rather than single level interventions to addressing policing as a social determinant of health. Findings from this review underscore the need for structural interventions focused on policing that are theory-driven, methodologically rigorous, and focused on communities that are disproportionately impacted by policing in the US. As policing continues to be a social determinant of health that requires change, public health researchers must focus on structural interventions rather than interventions focused solely on individual behaviors.