An Evaluation of a Suicide Prevention E-Learning Program for Police Officers (COPS): Improvement in Knowledge and Competence

Abstract

Background: Police officers are at high risk for mental and physical health problems and suicidal ideation. The specific risk factors are numerous and concern stressful missions and administrative aspects of the police profession. So far, the police get only little training on specific missions as well as on coping with stress and suicidal ideation in the police profession. In this study we test the efficacy of the online training COPS (Coping with Suicide) for police officers.Methods: A total of 142 police officers from Germany and Switzerland participated in the study; complete data (baseline and post) are available from 102 participants. The training consisted of three modules covering the topics of delivering death notifications, dealing with individuals with suicidal ideation and dealing with one's own distress and suicidal ideation in the police profession. The primary outcomes are perceived knowledge and self-rated competence regarding the contents of the program, actual knowledge as well as symptoms of depression and anxiety (PHQ-9), and attitudes toward suicide (ATTS). The data are collected at baseline and after completing the training.Results: We found a significant increase in knowledge as well as in perceived competence after completing the training. Mental health and attitudes toward suicide did not change significantly. Years on the job had no moderating effect on the effectiveness of the training.Discussion: The results suggest that a short e-learning program significantly improves knowledge and self-rated competence in delivering death notifications, in suicide prevention and stress management. It can be easily integrated into the daily routine of police-officers, and participants could participate at their own pace and from any location. One limitation of this study is the lack of a control-group. Further advantages and limitations of this study are discussed.Clinical Trial Registration:https://www.drks.de/drks_web/, identifier: DRKS00023882.

Development and Evaluation of Online Suicide Preventive Tool iAlive to Increase Competences in Engaging With a Suicidal Person

“…The results show an improvement of perceived competences in intervention group, which means that people who used the iAlive tool showed better suicide literacy, felt more confident to recognize suicidality, to be able to consider and talk about suicide when engaging with a suffering individual, and increased their self-efficacy in such situations. This is in line with previous findings, such as the evaluation of ASIST gatekeeper training program that improved the comfort, competence, and confidence in responding to individuals at risk of suicide (Shannonhouse et al, 2017) or short e-learning program for police that improved among others the suicide prevention (Hofmann et al, 2021). This indicates that the content of the tool has achieved its goals.…”

Police officers’ work–life balance, job satisfaction and quality of life: longitudinal effects after changing the shift schedule

“…Moreover, several health promotion programmes for police forces have been evaluated recently 61–63. At least in online trainings, it seems to be harder to change mental health and attitudes toward suicide compared with knowledge and competence, as an intervention study among German-speaking police officers implies 64. In this vein, mindfulness-based health promotion was recently shown to be feasible and efficacious to improve quality of life among Brazilian officers 61.…”

“…[61][62][63] At least in online trainings, it seems to be harder to change mental health and attitudes toward suicide compared with knowledge and competence, as an intervention study among German-speaking police officers implies. 64 In this vein, mindfulness-based health promotion was recently shown to be feasible and efficacious to improve quality of life among Brazilian officers. 61 It is also recommended to identify police officers' risk factors for mental health early to be able to prevent and promote their quality of life.…”

Best Practices for Notification of Unexpected, Violent, and Traumatic Death: A Scoping Review

“…In the last subcategory, one study presented several factors that law enforcement officers and supervisors should consider in the notification process and offered guidelines to best serve agencies and communities [ 31 ]. The study by Hoffman et al [ 64 ] provided further insight by analyzing the experiences of bereaved people who received death notifications from police officers. Research has highlighted the role of forensic nurses (FNDIs) as special reference figures to support investigations while taking care of survivors [ 50 ].…”

“…In particular, it was noted the need to implement mnemonic protocols within specific teaching modules, explore the experiences of the actors involved, delivery styles, and emotion management strategies, raise awareness, and identify needs in order to prevent the negative impact of stressful contents from turning over and causing burnout. Only three studies targeted law enforcement agencies [ 15 , 59 , 64 ], two studies targeted various professionals [ 27 , 66 ], and the remainder were conducted within the hospital environment [ 13 , 18 , 19 , 22 , 34 , 42 , 45 , 47 ]. Finally, an article proposed the CADS measurement scale for assessing levels of communication anxiety and avoidance in the notifier as a useful tool for identifying training needs [ 53 ].…”