Objective
It is generally assumed that police officers’ self-selection into the specialized, week-long Crisis Intervention Team (CIT) training is a critical feature of the overarching CIT program. However, issues pertaining to self-selection have not been empirically examined. In this study, it was hypothesized that officers entering CIT training, especially those self-selecting into it, would have: (1) a higher likelihood of exposure to/experience with mental health issues and mental health professionals, and (2) greater empathy and psychological mindedness.
Methods
177 officers—including 109 non-CIT officers, 24 pre-CIT officers assigned to training, and 44 pre-CIT officers who voluntarily self-selected into training—were assessed before and after their week-long classes (non-CIT officers were enrolled in other courses). Basic sociodemographic characteristics were assessed, and four psychometrically sound measures of empathy and psychological mindedness were administered. Associations between officer status and sociodemographic variables, past exposure/experience, and empathy and psychological mindedness were examined.
Results
The three groups did not differ on three of four exposure/experience variables; however, self-selected pre-CIT officers were more likely to have prior exposure to mental health professionals. No differences were found between the three groups on measures of empathy or psychological mindedness. One measure of empathy increased significantly after the week-long CIT training.
Conclusions
Findings did not support the hypothesis that officers self-selecting into CIT training would have greater baseline empathy and psychological mindedness. While there may be other justifiable reasons to argue for the importance of volunteering, these two traits do not appear to be greater among officers self-selecting into CIT.
Pediatric is the medicine specialization concerned with the health of infants, children, and adolescents. Worldwide, many infectious diseases were controlled in the 20th century by improving living standards, public health, and various antimicrobial agents. Antibiotics, in particular, cephalosporin, are amongst the most widely dispensed medications in Pediatric departments worldwide, especially in countries where there are no strict guidelines to regulate their use. A prospective cross-sectional study was conducted at 150 Bedded Pediatric ward of Peoples University of Medical and Health Sciences for Women (PUMHSW), Nawabshah, Shaheed Benazirabad to assess the utilization pattern of cephalosporin among all admitted in-patients. Patients' demographic details were recorded from the Patient's Bedside File (PBF). Data were analyzed by using Microsoft Excel and Microsoft SPSS 20. Among all admitted patients, 1285 patients met the inclusion criteria, and their PBF were evaluated for cephalosporin. A total of 2863 antibiotics were prescribed among 1932 patients. The most commonly prescribed class of antibiotics among the study population was Cephalosporin 1971 (68.83%), followed by Cefotaxime (20.39%). 76.20% of pediatric patients were prescribed antibiotics through the parenteral route and 23.8% through the oral route. The most common diagnosis was Pneumonia (23.4%), diarrhea (11.6%), and Bronchitis (11.2%), following other indications. Antibiotics were being prescribed without national antibiotic guidelines or institutionally approved protocols, which are currently unavailable. The study findings shall help the hospital administration and government design and implement official policies to promote rational utilization of antibiotics.
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.