Innovating Wellness: Police Personnel Perspectives on Strategies to Improve Access and Engagement

Details

• Personal Author:
  Ferdik F ; Fix RL ; Smith HP
• Description:
  Police personnel face numerous occupational hazards that can severely compromise their physical and mental health. Despite decades of scholarship on the subject, little is known about how best to deliver wellness knowledge and interventions to this workgroup. To address this research void, semistructured interviews were conducted with (n = 17) sworn and (n = 9) civilian police personnel from a large metropolitan law enforcement agency in the Mid-Atlantic United States. Participants offered insight regarding the stigmatization associated with help-seeking behaviors and best practices for treatment delivery, while also providing their opinions on eight innovative health strategies. Respondents voiced support for wellness apps, written toolkits, and group games, while therapeutic support groups were valued if led by credible messengers. Comic books, virtual reality, and card games generated considerable curiosity, whereas video clips were viewed negatively. Findings are used to strategize effective ways of delivering wellness programs to police personnel. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Health Promotion Law Enforcement Mental Health Nervous System Occupational Health Safety
• Keywords:
  Author Keywords: Community Safety Health Promotion Law Enforcement Law Enforcement Workers Mental Health Occupational Health Programs Police Officers Police Officer Wellbeing Semistructured Interviews Treatment Programming Wellbeing

  More +
• ISSN:
  0093-8548
• Document Type:
  Text
• Funding:
  Cooperative Agreement
• Genre:
  Journal Article
• Place as Subject:
  Atlanta Region [OSHA] ; Birmingham Region [OSHA] ; Maryland ; Philadelphia Region [OSHA] ; South Carolina ; Tennessee
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Volume:
  52
• Issue:
  4
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20070810
• Citation:
  Crim Justice Behav 2025 Apr; 52(4):571-590
• Contact Point Address:
  Frank Ferdik, Assistant Professor, Department of Criminal Justice, Austin Peay State University, 601 College St. Clarksville, TN 37044
• Email:
  ferdikf@apsu.edu
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2025
• Performing Organization:
  Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health
• Peer Reviewed:
  True
• Start Date:
  20210901
• Source Full Name:
  Criminal Justice and Behavior
• End Date:
  20260831
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:e5962a9254b5a4da2265cefa670b41cfc690dd7441a1de5f7de78173d09da41873dc04f134fe441f2b224fa2c4a76b657030a8081a8c4a8cfac30ed9707cd2b8
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/208960/cdc_208960_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 175.44 KB ]