Carol DeFrancesco

A New Tool to Assess Treatment Fidelity and Evaluation of Treatment Fidelity across 10 Years of Health Behavior Research.

A. Bellg, B. Borrelli, et al. (2004) previously developed a framework that consisted of strategies to enhance treatment fidelity of health behavior interventions. The present study used this framework to (a) develop a measure of treatment fidelity and (b) use the measure to evaluate treatment fidelity in articles published in 5 journals over 10 years. Three hundred forty-two articles met inclusion criteria; 22% reported strategies to maintain provider skills, 27% reported checking adherence to protocol, 35% reported using a treatment manual, 54% reported using none of these strategies, and 12% reported using all 3 strategies. The mean proportion adherence to treatment fidelity strategies was .55; 15.5% of articles achieved greater than or equal to .80. This tool may be useful for researchers, grant reviewers, and editors planning and evaluating trials.

The safety and health improvement: enhancing law enforcement departments study: feasibility and findings

This randomized prospective trial aimed to assess the feasibility and efficacy of a team-based worksite health and safety intervention for law enforcement personnel. Four-hundred and eight subjects were enrolled and half were randomized to meet for weekly, peer-led sessions delivered from a scripted team-based health and safety curriculum. Curriculum addressed: exercise, nutrition, stress, sleep, body weight, injury, and other unhealthy lifestyle behaviors such as smoking and heavy alcohol use. Health and safety questionnaires administered before and after the intervention found significant improvements for increased fruit and vegetable consumption, overall healthy eating, increased sleep quantity and sleep quality, and reduced personal stress.

The SHIELD (Safety & Health Improvement: Enhancing Law Enforcement Departments) Study: Mixed Methods Longitudinal Findings.

The SHIELD (Safety & Health Improvement: Enhancing Law Enforcement Departments) Study is a worksite wellness team-based intervention among police and sheriff departments assessing the programs effectiveness to reduce occupational risks and unhealthy lifestyle behaviors. The SHIELD program focused on improving diet, physical activity, body weight and sleep, and reducing the effects of unhealthy stress and behaviors, such as tobacco and substance abuse. The SHIELD team-based health promotion program was found to be feasible and effective at 6 months in improving diet, sleep, stress, and overall quality of life of law enforcement department personnel. Both intervention and control groups were followed for 24 months, and we report those durability findings, along with qualitative group interview results that provide insight into the changes of the long-term outcomes. Long-term effects were observed for consumption of fruits and vegetables, and there was some evidence for effects on tobacco and alcohol use. Assessment of dietary habits, physical activity behaviors, weight loss maintenance, and substance use is rare more than 1 year following an intervention, and in general, initial positive changes do not persist in prior research. The SHIELD program was feasible, effective, and durable for improving dietary changes.

Why Are Women Law Enforcement Officers More Burned-Out and What Might Help Them?

Women police officers are an asset to law enforcement organizations. Compared to their male counterparts, they rely more on communication skills to manage interactions, and they are less likely to use physical force. In addition, the single largest police call category nationwide is violence against women, and women officers are more likely to effectively respond to those calls [1]. Despite those findings, women are a minority of law enforcement officers (LEOs), and efforts to increase their recruitment and retention have had limited success [2]. Burnout may lead to lower job performance and leaving an occupation or work setting [3–5]. Understanding burnout and its correlates might allow developing programs to enhance and extend women LEOs’ careers. This report is a sub-study of a randomized controlled trial of a worksite wellness and safety program for LEOs [6], and in addition to psychological dimensions, information was gathered concerning diet, exercise, stress, sleep and fatigue. Although studies of the link between burnout and a healthy lifestyle are limited, cross-sectional investigations appear to indicate a reciprocal relationship. Those manifesting burnout were more likely to report low physical activity and greater obesity [7]. Conversely appropriate sleep patterns, regular physical activity and a healthy diet may attenuate feelings of burnout [8]. We assessed differences between women and men LEOs concerning burnout, demographics and lifestyle habits and compared women LEOs stratified on the burnout dimension to identify relationships that might inform subsequent efforts to prevent and remediate burnout among women LEOs.