MHST 631, Unit 2
I work in the realm of workplace health promotion for a mid-sized municipality and my job has me working with various groups of municipal employees, who represent various demographics. This includes lifeguards, to public works employees out in the field, to transit operators, municipal community peace officers, and various administrative workers. When it comes to health promotion, the challenges faced by these employee groups are equally as diverse; from shift work schedules, to high workload, to stress associated with working with the public, and pressures that are influenced by political dynamics. I've been reflecting and considering the topic that will carry forward through MHST 631 and the next two courses in this series of health promotion courses. What I am continually drawn towards is exploring further the health promotion needs of community peace officers, a group that I work with in my job. Over the last 5 years that I've been working in my role, I have had the opportunity to grow my understanding of the demands that these workers experience, which includes learning of the impact their job has on their mental health. Though, because I work with so many employee groups I haven't had the chance to dive into the literature for this group as much as I would have liked to. So this course seems like the perfect opportunity to do so.
Getting Prepared
To narrow the topic further, the health promotion topic that I will pursue is on a workplace program to support the mental health of municipal community peace officers. Due to the stressors involved with policing work and the workplace culture, the prevalence of mental illness amongst Canadian police officers is higher than the general public (Center for Addiction and Mental Health, 2018). My personal learning goal is to expand my learning on evidence-based initiatives to support the mental health of this employee group that I work with so I may better support them in my role. I am excited to search the literature to see what is available for Canadian-based evidence to inform my understanding and knowledge growth in this area. As I believe the culture of policing is different in different countries, which may influence a health promotion program for mental health of police here in Canada. My only hesitation on the topic is how much information will be available; I'm hoping that there is enough quality and recent research to glean knowledge from. However, I am hopeful because I have already found the Canadian Institute for Public Safety Research and Treatment (CIPSRT), which is a hub for research on public safety personnel in Canada, citing their mandate to "… engage existing academic research resources and facilitate the development of new research, research capacity, and effective knowledge translation" (2023, para 7.). I anticipate CIPSRT to be a valuable resource to me as I embark on this topic. I expect the most challenging part of this topic will be to stay focused on the mental health aspect, rather than the additional social and physical health promotion opportunities for this demographic.
I am most looking forward to expanding my understanding of the health promotion opportunities that are available for employers to make a positive impact on the mental health of community peace officers. I'm excited to take an in-depth view of this topic, as it has been on my “to-do” list for awhile. If anyone has any resources or experience in this area, I welcome your input and feedback!
Kylie
References
CIPSRT-ICRTSP-Mobilizing Knowledge into Action. (2023). About CIPSRT. Canadian Institute for Public Safety Research and Treatment. https://www.cipsrt-icrtsp.ca/en/about-cipsrt
The Centre for Addiction and Mental Health. (2018). Police Mental Health: A Discussion Paper. https://www.camh.ca/-/media/files/pdfs---public-policy-submissions/police-mental-health-discussion-paper-oct2018-pdf.pdf
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