CCWORK protocol: a longitudinal study of Canadian Correctional Workers' Well-being, Organizations, Roles and Knowledge

Rosemary Ricciardelli; Elizabeth Andres; Meghan M Mitchell; Bastien Quirion; Diane Groll; Michael Adorjan; Marcella Siqueira Cassiano; James Shewmake; Martine Herzog-Evans; Dominique Moran; Dale C Spencer; Christine Genest; Stephen Czarnuch; James Gacek; Cramm Heidi; Katharina Maier; Jo Phoenix; Michael Weinrath; Joy MacDermid; Margaret McKinnon; Stacy Haynes; Helen Arnold; Jennifer Turner; Anna Eriksson; Alexandra Heber; Gregory Anderson; Renee MacPhee; Nicholas Carleton

doi:10.1136/bmjopen-2021-052739

CCWORK protocol: a longitudinal study of Canadian Correctional Workers' Well-being, Organizations, Roles and Knowledge

BMJ Open. 2021 Dec 8;11(12):e052739. doi: 10.1136/bmjopen-2021-052739.

Authors

Rosemary Ricciardelli¹, Elizabeth Andres², Meghan M Mitchell³, Bastien Quirion⁴, Diane Groll⁵, Michael Adorjan⁶, Marcella Siqueira Cassiano², James Shewmake², Martine Herzog-Evans⁷, Dominique Moran⁸, Dale C Spencer⁹, Christine Genest¹⁰, Stephen Czarnuch¹¹, James Gacek¹², Cramm Heidi¹³, Katharina Maier¹⁴, Jo Phoenix¹⁵, Michael Weinrath¹⁴, Joy MacDermid¹⁶, Margaret McKinnon¹⁷, Stacy Haynes¹⁸, Helen Arnold¹⁹, Jennifer Turner²⁰, Anna Eriksson²¹, Alexandra Heber²², Gregory Anderson²³, Renee MacPhee²⁴, Nicholas Carleton²⁵

Affiliations

¹ Department of Sociology, Memorial University of Newfoundland, St. John's, Newfoundland, Canada rricciardell@mun.ca.
² Department of Sociology, Memorial University of Newfoundland, St. John's, Newfoundland, Canada.
³ Department of Criminal Justice, University of Central Florida, Orlando, Florida, USA.
⁴ Department of Criminology, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.
⁵ Department of Psychiatry, Queen's University, Kingston, Ontario, Canada.
⁶ Department of Sociology, University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta, Canada.
⁷ Faculty of Law, Universite de Reims Champagne-Ardenne, Reims, Grand Est, France.
⁸ School of Geography, Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, UK.
⁹ Department of Law and Legal Studies, Carleton University, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.
¹⁰ Faculty of Nursing, Universite de Montreal, Montreal, Quebec, Canada.
¹¹ Faculty of Engineering and Applied Science; Faculty of Medicine, Memorial University of Newfoundland, St. John's, Newfoundland, Canada.
¹² Department of Justice Studies, University of Regina, Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada.
¹³ School of Rehabilitation Therapy, Queen's University, Kingston, Ontario, Canada.
¹⁴ Department of Justice Studies, The University of Winnipeg, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada.
¹⁵ Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences, The Open University, Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire, UK.
¹⁶ School of Physical Therapy, University of Western Ontario, London, Ontario, Canada.
¹⁷ Department of Psychiatry and Behavioural Neurosciences/McMaster Integrative Neuroscience Discovery and Study (MINDS), McMaster University/St. Joseph's Healthcare Hamilton, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada.
¹⁸ Department of Sociology, Mississippi State University, Mississippi State, Mississippi, USA.
¹⁹ School of Law, University of East Anglia, Norwich, Norfolk, UK.
²⁰ Institute for Social Sciences, Carl von Ossietzky Universitat Oldenburg, Oldenburg, Niedersachsen, Germany.
²¹ School of Social Sciences, Monash University, Clayton, Victoria, Australia.
²² Veterans Affairs Canada, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.
²³ Faculty of Science, Thompson Rivers University, Kamloops, British Columbia, Canada.
²⁴ Kinesiology and Physical Education, Wilfrid Laurier University, Waterloo, Ontario, Canada.
²⁵ Department of Psychology, University of Regina, Regina, Saskatchewan, Canda.

Abstract

Introduction: Knowledge about the factors that contribute to the correctional officer's (CO) mental health and well-being, or best practices for improving the mental health and well-being of COs, have been hampered by the dearth of rigorous longitudinal studies. In the current protocol, we share the approach used in the Canadian Correctional Workers' Well-being, Organizations, Roles and Knowledge study (CCWORK), designed to investigate several determinants of health and well-being among COs working in Canada's federal prison system.

Methods and analysis: CCWORK is a multiyear longitudinal cohort design (2018-2023, with a 5-year renewal) to study 500 COs working in 43 Canadian federal prisons. We use quantitative and qualitative data collection instruments (ie, surveys, interviews and clinical assessments) to assess participants' mental health, correctional work experiences, correctional training experiences, views and perceptions of prison and prisoners, and career aspirations. Our baseline instruments comprise two surveys, one interview and a clinical assessment, which we administer when participants are still recruits in training. Our follow-up instruments refer to a survey, an interview and a clinical assessment, which are conducted yearly when participants have become COs, that is, in annual 'waves'.

Ethics and dissemination: CCWORK has received approval from the Research Ethics Board of the Memorial University of Newfoundland (File No. 20190481). Participation is voluntary, and we will keep all responses confidential. We will disseminate our research findings through presentations, meetings and publications (e.g., journal articles and reports). Among CCWORK's expected scientific contributions, we highlight a detailed view of the operational, organizational and environmental stressors impacting CO mental health and well-being, and recommendations to prison administrators for improving CO well-being.

Keywords: anxiety disorder; cohort; correctional officer; depression; longitudinal; mental health disorder; occupational stress injuries (OSIs); occupations; organisations; panic disorder; posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD); posttraumatic stress injuries (PTSI); prison; public safety personnel (PSP); stressors; training; well-being.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Canada
Humans
Longitudinal Studies
Mental Health
Prisoners*
Prisons*