Impact on wellbeing of exposure to traumatic material in “back office” police and law enforcement staff

AXA Research Fund grantee Dr Fazeelat Duran, from the University of Birmingham (UK), aims to bridge that gap: “I’ve always wished to improve the wellbeing of people who help the others” – she explains. She plans to conduct a novel study with back-office staff using a combination of methodological approaches and a longitudinal design in the UK within which a group of employees exposed to traumatic material and a group, non-exposed to such material, will be followed simultaneously over 18 months. A cross-sectional international survey will also help to understand the mechanisms for psychological harm. This new knowledge will help improve mental health and wellbeing by providing recommendations for workplace interventions and prevent the effects of exposure to traumatic material through work. This research will identify the necessary training and psychoeducation to support at-risk staff and those managing them, as well as the need for mandatory counselling and the physical changes to the workplace environment. “These recommendations will be communicated alongside our research findings through a policy briefing”, Dr Duran carries on. With her team, she will arrange and host a series of workshops with law enforcement and justice agencies in the UK and in Europe to disseminate the findings to a wide practitioner audience. Dr Duran aspires to be a world-leader in applied psychology and has developed considerable experience of conducting research with front-line staff. “I believe that research should be translated into real-world outcomes that are positive for the people we study” she adds. Dr Duran and her team intend to extend this research to other at-risk occupational groups, such as those working in different criminal justice settings and other industries that are exposed to traumatic material.