Recent Canadian research indicates 44.5% of public safety personnel (PSP) self-report symptoms consistent with at least one type of mental disorder; however, researchers have typically not focused on the mental wellness of civilians working within PSP sectors. Given that the number of civilians working in Canadian law enforcement organizations has doubled since 2003, with more than 30% of all police personnel in Canada being civilians, more research is needed to support this understudied sub-population within law enforcement. The current study used a survey to compare civilian members (n = 80) and sworn (n = 112) police officers working within a law enforcement organization on issues regarding mental disorders, perceived barriers to care and help-seeking behaviours. Results indicate that civilian members self-report a high prevalence of mental disorders and lower resilience compared with police officers in the same organization. Civilians reported similar barriers to accessing mental health compared with police officers but were less likely to indicate willingness to access supports within their place of employment. Our results support the need for equitable access to mental health resources for civilian staff working within law enforcement organizations.
My practicum placement was completed with the Dalla Lana School of Public Health Centre for Global Health. I have contributed to the work of a team of student and faculty members developing a review of the literature and environmental scan to explore the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on migrant populations. I worked with colleagues to design and run a search strategy on the Medline (OVID) and Scopus bibliographic databases. The findings showed that crises including the COVID-19 pandemic act as magnifying lens and expose existing inequities within society as the impact of the pandemic is not equally felt by all population groups. Migrant populations are particularly impacted due to their intersectional identities that marginalize and disempower them and severely impact their health outcomes. Even though migration is the engine of the globalized economy and migrant workers make significant contribution to agricultural and economic prosperity, their precarious living conditions have worsened during the pandemic and they are being excluded from relief packages and income support. Furthermore, racism and xenophobia are fuelling hostility and prejudice towards migrants as governments are controlling the movement of migrants by closing their borders to asylum seekers and existing refugee camps are having outbreaks due to cramped and overcrowded living conditions and limited healthcare access. It is evident that migrant populations are very diverse groups that are facing unique challenges and thus, require distinct forms of protection particularly during this pandemic. The results of this work are currently being summarized in a manuscript that recognizes how determinants of health impact the health and well-being of migrants, the need to develop a road map for recovery using a health equity lens, and inform health policies. To eradicate COVID-19, it is imperative to leave no one behind including migrant populations and re-evaluate how inequities are addressed globally.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.