Shannon Wagner, Nicole White, Lynda R. Matthews, Christine Randall, Cheryl Regehr, Marc White, Lynn E. Alden, Nicholas Buys, Mary G. Carey, Wayne Corneil, Trina Fyfe, Elyssa Krutop, Alex Fraess-Phillips and Matthew H. Fleischmann
The purpose of this systematic review is to evaluate the extant literature on depression and anxiety disorders in police using a multinational data set to determine whether the…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this systematic review is to evaluate the extant literature on depression and anxiety disorders in police using a multinational data set to determine whether the prevalence of these trauma-related disorders (TRMDs) is elevated in comparison to the general population.
Design/methodology/approach
Systematic review was employed in combination with best-evidence narrative synthesis to evaluate these hypotheses.
Findings
Despite wide variability in prevalence outcomes across the literature, strong evidence supports the hypothesis that the prevalence of depression is elevated in police, whereas moderate evidence supports the same hypothesis regarding anxiety. Preliminary evaluation of commonly examined predictive factors for each disorder demonstrated weak and inconsistent associations between these TRMDs and sociodemographic factors. No studies evaluated the relationship between incident-related factors (e.g. severity or frequency of exposure) and TRMDs, thus, at present, the literature on police is almost entirely unable to address the question of whether the prevalence of these disorders in police is influenced by exposure to work-related trauma.
Research limitations/implications
The findings highlight a critical need for future work to address incident-related factors in predicting symptoms of depression and anxiety in police samples to determine whether these disorders bear a unique relationship to work-related traumatic exposure. Such work will significantly benefit the design and implementation of successful prevention and intervention strategies in the workplace.
Originality/value
The present review provides a comprehensive synthesis of a highly variable literature, highlighting critical gaps in our current knowledge of TRMDs in police and suggesting numerous avenues for future study.
Details
Keywords
Ioana Popescu, Kim Neudorf and Sandi N. Kossey
The purpose of this paper is to provide an overview of the perspectives of patient advisors (PAs) on the current state of antimicrobial resistance (AR) and stewardship in Canada…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to provide an overview of the perspectives of patient advisors (PAs) on the current state of antimicrobial resistance (AR) and stewardship in Canada and identifies next steps, with the goal of stimulating further collaboration for action between leaders and PAs as well as research.
Design/methodology/approach
The perspectives of PAs were gathered using an electronic online survey of 72 respondents. A search of peer reviewed literature and publicly available reports informed the development of the survey and the articulation of a more comprehensive viewpoint in this paper.
Findings
PAs view AR as a serious and growing public health threat. They believe sharing the responsibility for infection prevention and control and antimicrobial stewardship will help to control the problem. They see healthcare professionals as the most appropriate stakeholders to influence behaviors associated with appropriate antibiotic use, however, they also see value in public campaigns. Importantly, they identify several opportunities for PA contribution: education of care providers, patients, families, and the public; co-design and development of materials, policies, improvement initiatives, and research; and participation in and promotion of public campaigns.
Practical implications
Engaging PAs as partners at all system levels is becoming common practice. PAs bring a unique and complementary perspective that could contribute to antimicrobial stewardship efforts.
Originality/value
This paper begins to bridge a gap between literature and practice, and proposes that PAs can contribute to antimicrobial stewardship efforts.