TY  - JOUR
AU  - Elliot, Diane
AU  - Kuehl, Kerry
AU  - DeFrancesco, Carol
AU  - McGinnis, Wendy
AU  - Ek, Susanna
AU  - Van Horne, Allee
AU  - Kempany, Katherine Ginsberg
PY  - 2023
DA  - 2023/9/22
TI  - Technology-Enabled Intervention to Enhance Mindfulness, Safety, and Health Promotion Among Corrections Professionals: Protocol for a Prospective Quasi-Experimental Trial
JO  - JMIR Res Protoc
SP  - e45535
VL  - 12
KW  - corrections professionals
KW  - mindfulness
KW  - total worker health
KW  - occupational safety
KW  - digital
KW  - health promotion
KW  - safety
KW  - depression
KW  - suicide
KW  - obesity
KW  - cardiovascular disease
KW  - well-being
KW  - stress
KW  - survey
KW  - healthy eating
KW  - physical activity
KW  - mood
KW  - vascular health
KW  - injury
KW  - cop
KW  - police
KW  - security
KW  - undercover
KW  - remand
KW  - detention
KW  - prison
KW  - state correctional
KW  - state corrections
KW  - correction
KW  - penitentiary
AB  - Background: Correction professionals are a highly stressed workforce with heightened risks for depression, suicide, obesity, cardiovascular disease, and injury. These professionals, largely hidden from view, have received little study concerning means to improve their safety, health, and well-being. In other settings, mindfulness has resulted in lowered stress, along with other benefits. We hypothesized that a program that promoted mindfulness combined with more typical health and safety components could uniquely benefit corrections professionals. Objective: This project will assess a novel scalable, self-administered program to enhance the mindfulness, safety, and health of a vulnerable worker group. Methods: In partnership with the Oregon Department of Corrections, we are conducting a prospective quasi-experimental trial of a safety, health, and mindfulness program among 100 corrections professionals from 2 institutions. Survey and physiologic data will be collected at enrollment, upon weekly program completion (3 months), and at 9 months after enrollment. Primary outcome behaviors promoted by the program are being mindful, healthier eating, more physical activity, and greater restorative sleep. Secondary downstream benefits are anticipated in stress level, mood, positive feelings about the organization, vascular health, and cellular aging, along with job performance, injuries, and economic costs. Participants will meet in-person or in a Zoom-type meeting as 3- to 5-member coworker groups during their usual work hours for 30-minute sessions once a week for 12 weeks. The program uses self-guided web-based learning modules that include brief mindfulness practice, and it is accessible by smartphone, tablet, or laptop. Daily mindfulness practice is encouraged between sessions, which is facilitated by the study website and group format. The modules’ structure emphasizes prerequisite knowledge, peer support, skill practice, self-monitoring, and enhancing self-efficacy for change. The program continues through self-directed use of the Headspace app following the 12 weekly sessions. Results: Participants are being enrolled, and the intervention is ready to launch. Conclusions: Although mindfulness training has gained traction for worker well-being, its usual format requires a skilled trainer, an initial retreat, and weekly 2-hour meetings for several weeks. The content is limited to mindfulness without safety or health promotion aspects. The need for skilled trainers and time commitment limits the scalability of the usual mindfulness interventions. The planned program is an innovative combination of technology, e-learning, and a group format to add mindfulness to a safety and health curriculum. If acceptable and effective, the format would facilitate its widespread use. Trial Registration: ClinicalTrials.gov NCT05608889; https://classic.clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT05608889 International Registered Report Identifier (IRRID): PRR1-10.2196/45535 
SN  - 1929-0748
UR  - https://www.researchprotocols.org/2023/1/e45535
UR  - https://doi.org/10.2196/45535
UR  - http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/36602914
DO  - 10.2196/45535
ID  - info:doi/10.2196/45535
ER  -