A national study of the availability of law enforcement agency wellness programming for officers: A latent class analysis

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to understand the availability of employee wellness programs within law enforcement agencies (LEAs) across the United States, including physical fitness, resilience/wellness, coping skills, nutrition, mental health treatment, and substance use treatment. The research team investigated whether patterns of LEA wellness programming are identifiable and, if so, what characteristics describe these patterns. We assess using latent class analysis whether there are distinct profiles of agencies with similar patterns offering different types of wellness programs and explore what characteristics distinguish agencies with certain profiles of wellness programming. Data were from a nationally representative sample of 1135 LEAs: 80.1% municipal, 18.6% county and 1.3% other agencies (state-level and Bureau of Indian Affairs LEAs). We found that many agencies (62%) offer no wellness programming. We also found that 23% have comprehensive wellness programming, and that another group of agencies specialize in specific wellness programming. About 14% of the agencies have a high probability of providing resilience coping skill education, mental health and/or substance use treatment services programming. About 1% of the agencies in the United States limit their programming to fitness and nutrition, indicating that fitness and nutrition programs are more likely to be offered in concert with other types of wellness programs. The analyses revealed that agencies offering broad program support are more likely to be large, municipal LEAs located in either the West, Midwest or Northeast (compared with the southern United States), and not experiencing a recent budget cut that impacted wellness programming.

Health, Safety, and Wellness Concerns Among Law Enforcement Officers: An Inductive Approach

“…Worksite wellness programs have been shown to have beneficial impacts on the mental and physical health of (LEO’s) (Acquadro Maran et al, 2018; Antony et al, 2020; MacMillan et al, 2017; Taylor et al, 2021). Nevertheless, most law enforcement agencies do not currently offer wellness programs (Taylor et al, 2021).…”

“…Worksite wellness programs have been shown to have beneficial impacts on the mental and physical health of (LEO’s) (Acquadro Maran et al, 2018; Antony et al, 2020; MacMillan et al, 2017; Taylor et al, 2021). Nevertheless, most law enforcement agencies do not currently offer wellness programs (Taylor et al, 2021). Although previous studies have assessed the impact of some occupation-specific risk factors on the health of LEO’s, few have involved LEO’s as participants in ways that allow their point of view to be heard directly.…”

Mental health and wellness initiatives supporting United States law enforcement personnel: The current state-of-play

“…Whether agency-provided or external, officers experiencing psychological distress were accessing between one and three services. It should be acknowledged that recent research undertaken by Taylor et al (2022) using agency level analysis found that 62% of U.S. agencies did not offer wellness services. The findings of both the current research and Taylor et al (2022) point to the importance of understanding availability at the agency level.…”

“…It should be acknowledged that recent research undertaken by Taylor et al (2022) using agency level analysis found that 62% of U.S. agencies did not offer wellness services. The findings of both the current research and Taylor et al (2022) point to the importance of understanding availability at the agency level. In addition, the present research highlights the importance of the proportion of officers in the law enforcement population who have services available to them.…”

“…While we have some insight into specific types of wellness programs that are being used by U.S. police agencies, research tends to focus on specific programs in isolation, such as EAPs or peer support programs. Research that identifies and quantifies the full range and scope of wellness services that are available to police across the United States remains understudied (Taylor et al, 2022). We need to understand what types of services are available, whether they are available to all police personnel, regardless of the size of agency, and importantly, what types of services police officers are most likely to access.…”