WED-105 - Using Co-design to Inform a Law Enforcement Wellness Program

Brief Abstract Summary: This qualitative study explores using co-design methods to facilitate a discussion on the unique needs of law enforcement officers for a wellness program. Using qualitative, co-design methods, law enforcement (LE) officers engaged in three activities to identify needs of a wellness program. Key wellness needs identified include improving sleep, work-life balance, team building, and reducing burnout while enhancing access to existing resources. Attendees will learn how to apply co-design methods and specific needs of LE officers for a wellness program.

Detailed abstract description: Law enforcement officers (LEOs) experience high occupational stress (i.e., shift work, exposures to trauma, and environmental hazards) which lead to a 22-year difference in life expectancy when compared to the general population. Although many agencies provide wellness resources, they are often underutilized for unknown reasons. The purpose of this study was to use co-design methodologies with LEOs to identify wellness program needs for LEOs.

We conducted three co-design activities with a total of 18 LEOs across two Midwest sites. Each activity was developed to encourage participants to share their tacit knowledge about wellness program needs. The first activity included groups of 4-5 LEOs who constructed hypothetical timelines of their daily activities. In the second activity, individuals created a visual representation of who they want their future selves to be. They used a generic bullseye to indicate more (i.e., closer to the center of the bullseye) or less (i.e., further from the center of the bullseye) favorable qualities. In the third activity, groups of 8-10 ranked the importance and the changeability of different wellness-related words. Throughout these activities, participants used a standard set of pictures and words but were also given the opportunity to create their own.

Following data collection, three researchers coded the raw visual data and used content analysis methods to describe findings from each activity and subsequent participant discussions. Within the timeline, trouble sleeping/sleepiness, exercise behaviors, sedentary work, working at desks, takeout meals, muscle pain, and transition between work activities (e.g., drug seizure) to family time (e.g. kids’ baseball) were identified. In the bullseye activity, participants endorsed “retirement”, “happiness”, and “family-driven” as qualities they wanted to have, while “career-driven” was mixed with some individuals putting it close to the bullseye and others outside of the target completely. “Burnout” was universally placed outside of the target area to indicate it was a quality they did not wish to have. In the final activity, “self-awareness”, “support systems”, “health behaviors”, “resources”, “time”, and “team building” were the most frequently used words in the important and changeable grid across groups.

Law enforcement is a high-stress shiftwork occupation that involves unique facilitators and barriers to being healthy. Co-design is a feasible, community-engaged way to identify those unique elements and constraints of the job to co-develop a tailored wellness program to meet LEOs’ needs. Specifically, LEOs would benefit from programs that focus on sleep, improving health behaviors such as exercise and diet, work-life balance, and reducing burnout. Additionally, programs should aim to remove barriers for existing resources and promote activities that foster team building to improve chances of success in future wellness program interventions.