OBJECTIVE: To determine the prevalence of work ability (WA) and describe characteristics of the subgroup with poor WA among military police officers. METHODS: A descriptive and cross-sectional study with 329 male military police officers engaged in street patrolling in Salvador, Bahia, Brazil, selected by proportionate stratified sampling. The Work Ability Index and a structured form were used to collect information about age, education, marital status, housing, salary, car ownership, work hours, rank (official or enlisted), drinking, smoking, frequency of vigorous physical activity, and obesity. Data were analyzed by uni and bivariate statistical techniques. RESULTS: The work ability of the 329 military police officers was classified as poor (10.3%), moderate (28.9%), good (34.7%), and excellent (26.1%), with mean score of 37.8 and standard deviation of 7.3 points. Policemen with poor work ability, compared with those with moderate, good or excellent WA, presented higher proportions of individuals who did not own their residences (p < 0.001), with work hours above eight hours/day (p < 0.026), and obesity (p < 0.001). In the subgroup of the 26 policemen who concomitantly did not own their residences, worked more than eight 8 hours/day and were obese, the prevalence of poor work ability was 31.0%. The prevalence of poor WA was 31.0% among the 29 policemen who were simultaneously obese and did not own their residences and of 27.9% among the 43 policemen who were obese and work hours above eight hours/day. CONCLUSIONS: A high percentage of military police officers from Salvador presented poor or moderate work ability, which may hamper or compromise their policing activities. The prevalence of poor work ability was higher among the policemen who did not own their residences, worked more than 8 hours/day and were obese.
Background Brazil is a violent society and police officers play a fundamental role in this scenario. Police work is a stressful occupation. Dealing with routine violence, police officers must have high standards of physical and mental health. Patrolling the streets involves several risks and stressful situations that may hamper military policemen's quality of life. The identification of factors associated with health-related quality of life may help in planning and providing adequate care to military policemen. This study aimed to identify factors associated with health-related quality of life of military policemen in Salvador, Brazil. Methods A cross-sectional design study investigated a random sample of 329 male military police officers, engaged in patrolling the streets of Salvador, Brazil. A structured questionnaire applied to the policemen collected information about age, education, marital status, income, house ownership, car ownership, police rank, working day, alcohol consumption, smoking, frequency of vigorous physical activity, obesity (body mass index ≥ 30.0), and work ability. Health-related quality of life was evaluated through the 36-Item Short Form Health Survey Questionnaire (SF-36). Work ability was assessed through the Work Ability Index questionnaire. Poor work ability was defined by a 7–27 points score. Multiple linear regression models were used to measure the impact of police officers characteristics on the variation in the Physical Component and Mental Component Summary scores. Results Normalised scores were below 50.0% for seven out of the eight SF-36 domains and for the two component summaries. The SF-36 Physical Component Summary was significantly (P < 0.05) associated with poor work ability, while the Mental Component Summary was associated with poor work ability, excessive alcohol consumption, and younger age (24–34 years). Multivariate analysis estimated that the Physical Component Summary was 7.386 units (%) lower among policemen with poor work ability compared to those with moderate/good/excellent work ability. The Mental Component Summary was 12.755 units lower among those with poor work ability, 5.354 units lower among those with excessive alcohol consumption, and 5.532 units higher among those with younger age. Conclusions The military police officers investigated presented low health-related quality of life, associated with younger age, excessive alcohol consumption, and poor work ability.
Background: Brazil is a violent society and police officers play a fundamental role in this scenario. Police work is a stressful occupation. Dealing with routine violence, police officers must have high standards of physical and mental health. Patrolling the streets involves several risks and stressful situations that may hamper military policemen's quality of life. This study aimed to identify factors associated with health-related quality of life in military policemen. Methods: A cross-sectional design study investigated a random sample of 329 male military police officers, engaged in patrolling the streets of Salvador, Bahia, Brazil. A structured questionnaire was applied to the policemen during their working hours. Information was collected about age, education, marital status, housing, car ownership, police rank, working day, alcohol consumption, smoking, frequency of vigorous physical activity and weight and height, in order to calculate body mass index. Health-related quality of life was evaluated through the 36-Item Short Form Survey Questionnaire (SF-36). Work ability was assessed through the Work Ability Index questionnaire. Poor work ability was defined by a Work Ability Index 7-27 points. Multivariable linear regression models were used to measure the impact of police officer characteristics on variation in the Physical Component and Mental Component Summary scores.Results: Normalised scores were below 50.0 for seven out of the eight SF-36 domains and for the two component summaries. The SF-36 Physical Component Summary was associated with poor work ability, while the Mental Component Summary was associated with poor work ability, excessive alcohol consumption, and younger age. Poor work ability affected 10.3% of the workforce. Decreases of 7.363 units (%) in the Physical Component Summary mean and of 12.862 units (%) in the Mental Component Summary mean were estimated for policemen with poor work ability.Conclusions: The military police officers investigated presented poor health-related quality of life, associated with younger age, excessive alcohol consumption, and poor work ability, which may hamper the performance of their professional activities.
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