Chronic Pain in Irish Prison Officers: Profile and Predictors of Pain-Related Disability and Depression

Costello, E. J.; Bogue, John; Sarma, Kiran; McGuire, Brian E.

doi:10.1111/pme.12822

Cited by 13 publications

(10 citation statements)

References 54 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…Research with Irish correctional officers showed that nearly half report chronic pain. 21 Researchers assessing chronic back pain in two large European samples of police (i.e., Northern Ireland, n = 2000; Manchester, n = 600) estimated the prevalence as ranging from 4.3% to 8.2%. 22 A study using a smaller sample of U.K. police (n = 80) found that chronic pain prevalence estimates ranged from 22% to 38%.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Chronic pain among public safety personnel in Canada

Carleton

Afifi

Turner

et al. 2017

Canadian Journal of Pain

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Background: Chronic pain is highly prevalent in the general population and may be even higher among public safety personnel (PSP; e.g., correctional officers, dispatchers, firefighters, paramedics, police). Comprehensive data on chronic pain among diverse Canadian PSP are relatively sparse. Aims: The current study was designed to provide initial estimates of chronic pain frequency and severity among Canadian PSP. Methods: Estimates of chronic pain frequency and severity (i.e., intensity and duration) at different bodily locations were derived from self-reported data collected through an online survey. Participants included 5093 PSP (32.5% women) grouped into six categories (i.e., call center operators/dispatchers, correctional officers, firefighters, municipal/provincial police, paramedics, Royal Canadian Mounted Police [RCMP]). Results: Substantial proportions of participants reported chronic pain, with estimates ranging from 35.3% to 45.4% across the diverse PSP categories. Across PSP categories, chronic lower back pain was the most prevalent. For some pain locations, firefighters and municipal/provincial police reported lower prevalence, but paramedics reported lower intensity, and duration, than some other PSP groups. Over 50% of RCMP and paramedics reporting chronic pain indicated that the pain was associated with an injury related to active duty. Conclusions: Discrepancies emerged across PSP members with respect to prevalence, location, and severity. The current data suggest that additional resources and research are necessary to mitigate the development and maintenance of distressing or disabling chronic pain for Canadian PSP.

show abstract

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Chronic pain among public safety personnel in Canada

Carleton

Afifi

Turner

et al. 2017

Canadian Journal of Pain

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…In a study of the health conditions of socio-educational agents, 62.8% mentioned using some type of medication, while when asked about the need for medical and psychological care in the last year, 79.6% and 35.5%, respectively, answered affirmatively 14 . In a survey carried out in Ireland, meanwhile, there seemed to be a predominance of chronic pain in POs, associated with both physical and psychological impairment 15 .…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Working Conditions and Health of Prison Officers in Paraná (Brazil)

Pauli¹,

Follador²,

Wendt³

et al. 2022

Rev Esp Sanid Penit

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Objectives: This cross-sectional study was carried out to identify the associations between working and health conditions among prison officers at a state prison in Paraná, Brazil. Material and method: A proportional and stratified random sample of 125 individuals was used. The participants, who were not identified, completed a self-administered questionnaire. Results: The results showed a prevalence of minor psychiatric disorders (MPD) of 30.4% (95%CI: 22.4-39.2). A total of 17.9% of the respondents had persistent stress (95%CI: 12.2-25.2), 66.4 had up to five health-related complaints (95%CI: 58.4-75.2) and 9.6% had scores that indicated higher risk for alcohol abuse and/or dependance (95%CI:4.8-16.0). Multivariate analyses showed that with an MPD outcome, health problems (p<0.01), physical environment (p=0.013) and organizational risks (p<0.01) were significant predictors. Persistent stress was predicted by age (p=0.031), health problems (p<0.01) and organizational risks (p=0.023), while health complaints were associated with health problems (p<0.01) and physical environment (p<0.01). There were no significant predictors for higher risk for alcohol abuse and/or dependance. Discussion: In general, the results demonstrate the precarious nature of the work of prison officers, and reveal the importance of further studies to evaluate whether this is a specific reality of the unit that was investigated, or whether these results are common in other prison environments.

show abstract

“…Performance in stressful circumstances can also have important workplace performance and health consequences for law enforcement personnel long after a critical incident (Violanti and Paton, 1999; Franke et al, 2002; Arnetz et al, 2009; Gershon et al, 2009). These same concerns also arise for those in other high-stakes professions, such as military personnel (Johnson et al, 2005; Kavanagh, 2005; Bray et al, 2009; Smith et al, 2011; Rush et al, 2016), or corrections officers (Johnson et al, 2005; Ghaddar et al, 2008; Costello et al, 2015).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 92%

Applying the Theory of Constructed Emotion to Police Decision Making

et al. 2019

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Law enforcement personnel commonly make decisions in stressful circumstances, where the costs associated with errors are high and sometimes fatal. In this paper, we apply a powerful theoretical approach, the theory of constructed emotion (TCE), to understand decision making under evocative circumstances. This theory posits that the primary purpose of a brain is to predictively regulate physiological resources to coordinate the body’s motor activity and learning in the short term, and to meet the body’s needs for growth, survival, and reproduction in the long term. This process of managing the brain and body’s energy needs, called allostasis, is based on the premise that a brain anticipates bodily needs and attempts to meet those needs before they arise (e.g., vestibular activity that raises sympathetic nervous system activity before standing), because this is more efficient than responding to energetic needs after the fact. In this view, all mental events—cognition, emotion, perception, and action—are shaped by allostasis, and thus all decision making is embodied, predictive, and concerned with balancing energy needs. We also posit a key role for the autonomic nervous system (ANS) in regulating short-term energy expenditures, such that the ANS influences experience and behavior under stressful circumstances, including police decision making. In this paper, we first explain the core features of the TCE, and then offer insights for understanding police decision making in complex, real-world situations. In so doing, we describe how the TCE can be used to guide future studies of realistic decision making in occupations in which people commonly make decisions in evocative situations or under time pressure, such as in law enforcement.

show abstract

Chronic Pain in Irish Prison Officers: Profile and Predictors of Pain-Related Disability and Depression

Abstract: Chronic pain appears to be prevalent in prison officers and is associated with both physical and psychological impairment. Health care staff in correctional facilities should be aware that these health difficulties are prevalent in the prison work environment.

Cited by 13 publications

References 54 publications

Chronic pain among public safety personnel in Canada

Chronic pain among public safety personnel in Canada

Working Conditions and Health of Prison Officers in Paraná (Brazil)

Applying the Theory of Constructed Emotion to Police Decision Making

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About