Fatigue management training appears to improve sleep, safety and well-being for Seattle police

Police work is a profession that involves shifts and long working hours, both of which can lead to insufficient sleep and fatigue. Because of the unique demands of the job, fatigue poses risks related to decision-making, impulse control, driving and other aspects of the job.

In a new study, researchers tested the effect of a fatigue management program on the sleep, mental health, well-being and safety of Seattle police officers. The training improved sleep duration and improved several aspects of employee safety and well-being.

The studyby researchers from Washington State University (WSU) and the Seattle Police Department, was published in Journal of Experimental Criminology.

“This is the first real experiment to test the effectiveness of fatigue management training in a large U.S. urban police department,” explains Lois James, assistant dean of research and associate professor at WSU’s College of Nursing, who led the investigation.

“Our findings can inform future interventions, guide evaluations, and establish evidence-based best practices for replication or adaptation across the country.” James is an expert whose work is promoted by the NCJA Crime and Justice Research Alliance, which is funded by the National Criminal Justice Association.

Previous studies have consistently suggested that fatigue management training can promote sleep, health and well-being in police personnel. However, all studies used a simple pre- and post-training design, which is prone to selection bias and other problems.

This study used a randomized control design, building on previous work by using both physiological measures of sleep (wrist actigraphy) and validated survey instruments to measure sleep quality, sleepiness, depression, anxiety, and symptoms of post-traumatic stress syndrome (PTSD).

Researchers evaluated the effectiveness of an eight-week, modular, online fatigue management training program in the Seattle Police Department. Data collection for the study began in the fall of 2020.

Of the department’s 1,300 employees, 155 have completed the training; of these, 75% consisted of officers and 25% of civilian employees. Nearly three-quarters of respondents were white and two-thirds were male; The ages of the respondents ranged from 25 to 54 years. Participants worked different shifts, with approximately 35% working from 9am to 5pm and the remainder working night, longer day or evening shifts.

Participants were randomly assigned to a treatment group (employees who participated in the training) or a control group (employees who were on a waiting list to receive the training after the end of the experiment). Those who received the training did so for eight weeks and then received follow-up testing.

The program included education on practicing sleep hygiene, reducing stress, maximizing nutrition and exercise, managing circadian peaks and valleys, and combating fatigue.

The training significantly improved employees’ sleep (addition of 18 minutes of sleep per 24-hour period); Employees who did not participate in the training, on the other hand, slept 9 minutes less per day.

While this increase may not seem large, by the end of the intervention the training participants had increased their sleep to an average of seven hours, an amount that has been favorably associated with better health for adults. Sleep quality also improved, although only significantly for participants who worked day shifts.

Participants in the treatment group significantly reduced the severity of their PTSD symptoms, perhaps as a result of the breathing and meditation modules, the authors suggest. Furthermore, the training significantly reduced rates of depression and anxiety, although effect sizes were small. Finally, participation in the training reduced the likelihood of employees falling asleep while driving.

Among the limitations of the study, the authors note that the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic may have influenced their results in ways that were difficult to control for, limiting the generalizability of the study beyond the pandemic era.

The pandemic delayed the conduct of the investigation, and circumstances during the pandemic and in the aftermath of the police killing of George Floyd (e.g., civil unrest, increased stress on police and the public) may have affected the investigation, they note.

“Our study is the first to document the effectiveness of a fatigue training intervention in promoting sleep, mental health, well-being and safety in police officers using a randomized control trial design,” said Stephen James, assistant professor in WSU’s Elson S. Floyd College of Medicine, who co-authored the study.

“Amid calls for police funding cuts, department understaffing, and police burnout, our results suggest that it would be prudent to accelerate the implementation of police fatigue management programs across the country.” country to explore.”

“The training we have developed, implemented and evaluated can reverse issues arising from police fatigue, reducing the number of employees on sick leave or absent due to injury and alleviating staff shortages be closed so that the community receives the services. that is necessary,” said Loren Atherley, senior director of performance analytics and research and senior research scientist at the Seattle Police Department, who co-authored the study.

Provided by Crime and Justice Research Alliance