Development and Implementation of a Total Worker Health® Mentoring Program in a Correctional Workforce

Abstract

Correctional officers (COs) are exposed to a number of occupational stressors, and their health declines early in their job tenure. Interventions designed to prevent early decline in CO health are limited. This article describes the development, implementation, and evaluation of a one-year peer health mentoring program (HMP) guided by Total Worker Health® principles and using a participatory action research to collectively address worker safety, health, and well-being of newly hired COs. The HMP aimed to provide new COs with emotional and tangible forms of support during their first year of employment, including peer coaching to prevent early decline in physical fitness and health. The development and implementation of the HMP occurred across five main steps: (1) participatory design focus groups with key stakeholders; (2) adaptation of an existing mentoring handbook and training methods; (3) development of mentor–mentee recruitment criteria and assignment; (4) designing assessment tools; and (5) the initiation of a mentor oversight committee consisting of union leadership, corrections management, and research staff. Correctional employee engagement in the design and implementation process proved to be efficacious in the implementation and adaptation of the program by staff. Support for the HMP remained high as program evaluation efforts continued.

Peer Support Programs to Reduce Organizational Stress and Trauma for Public Safety Workers: A Scoping Review

“…There were five studies aimed at police officers (Goldstein, 2005; Levenson & Dwyer, 2003; Milliard, 2020; Van Hasselt et al, 2019; Watson & Andrews, 2018), and five studies describing military experiences (Barber et al, 2008; Greden et al, 2010; Greenberg et al, 2010; Hundt et al, 2015; Kumar et al, 2019). Two studies explored correctional officers (Kotejoshyer et al, 2021; Namazi et al, 2021), and one study included a mixed sample of PSWs (Carleton et al, 2020). There were no identified studies that explored PSPs for frontline safety personnel such as firefighters or emergency medical technicians using the inclusion criteria cited.…”

Organizational Sensemaking Systems as a Determinant of Successful Organizational Change: A Grounded Theory Approach

“…These design teams then coordinate with a steering committee made up of management personnel and other key stakeholders to prioritize, coordinate, and implement interventions. Using this structured process, CDOC has been able to draw on the experiences and insights of all levels of the organization and create jointly endorsed and coordinated action plans, thus speeding up the process for implementation of interventions and heavily increasing the probability of success (Kotejoshyer et al, 2021;Lee et al, 2019;Namazi et al, 2021;Punnett et al, 2009).…”

Promising Occupational Safety, Health, and Well-Being Approaches to Explore the Future of Work in the USA: An Editorial

“…To begin, Namazi et al [10] and Kotejoshyer et al [11] separately discuss aspects of the development, implementation, and evaluation of a TWH peer health mentoring program designed to address safety, health, and well-being for newly hired correctional officers (CO), a worker population at increased risk of issues such as cumulative stress and resultant outcomes. Though overall CO physical and mental health decline during the study, participating mentors note several social benefits of the program, such as opportunities to learn more about themselves and form meaningful relationships with co-worker mentees.…”